Creaking Cristiano Ronaldo’s presence at World Cup is more a curse than a blessing | Jonathan Wilson https://ift.tt/MRXCpr7 Jonathan Wilson <p>Veterans such as Messi and Modric are much in evidence at the finals, but an obsession with celebrity may undermine Portugal</p><p>It turns out that 2022 wasn’t Lionel Messi’s last dance after all. He will turn 39 during the World Cup, but despite concerns over the “muscular overload” that led to him limping out of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/may/24/lionel-messi-injury-inter-miami-argentina-world-cup-2026">Inter Miami’s 6-4 win over Philadelphia Union</a> on Sunday, he remains the figure on whom Argentinian hopes rely.</p><p>Messi won’t be the only veteran in Canada, the US and Mexico: Cristiano Ronaldo, aged 41, will also be there – inevitably, given how his career and Messi’s seem inextricably bound. So will Luka Modric and Edin Dzeko, plus the goalkeepers Manuel Neuer, Craig Gordon, Guillermo Ochoa and Vozinha, all of whom are 40. And there is one 39-year-old other than Messi: the Japan defender Yuto Nagatomo.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/may/30/cristiano-ronaldo-world-cup-lionel-messi-luka-modric">Continue reading...</a> https://ift.tt/nZ0EFig May 31, 2026 at 12:35AM - news

السبت، 30 مايو 2026

Creaking Cristiano Ronaldo’s presence at World Cup is more a curse than a blessing | Jonathan Wilson https://ift.tt/MRXCpr7 Jonathan Wilson

Veterans such as Messi and Modric are much in evidence at the finals, but an obsession with celebrity may undermine Portugal

It turns out that 2022 wasn’t Lionel Messi’s last dance after all. He will turn 39 during the World Cup, but despite concerns over the “muscular overload” that led to him limping out of Inter Miami’s 6-4 win over Philadelphia Union on Sunday, he remains the figure on whom Argentinian hopes rely.

Messi won’t be the only veteran in Canada, the US and Mexico: Cristiano Ronaldo, aged 41, will also be there – inevitably, given how his career and Messi’s seem inextricably bound. So will Luka Modric and Edin Dzeko, plus the goalkeepers Manuel Neuer, Craig Gordon, Guillermo Ochoa and Vozinha, all of whom are 40. And there is one 39-year-old other than Messi: the Japan defender Yuto Nagatomo.

Continue reading... https://ift.tt/nZ0EFig May 31, 2026 at 12:35AM

Veterans such as Messi and Modric are much in evidence at the finals, but an obsession with celebrity may undermine Portugal

It turns out that 2022 wasn’t Lionel Messi’s last dance after all. He will turn 39 during the World Cup, but despite concerns over the “muscular overload” that led to him limping out of Inter Miami’s 6-4 win over Philadelphia Union on Sunday, he remains the figure on whom Argentinian hopes rely.

Messi won’t be the only veteran in Canada, the US and Mexico: Cristiano Ronaldo, aged 41, will also be there – inevitably, given how his career and Messi’s seem inextricably bound. So will Luka Modric and Edin Dzeko, plus the goalkeepers Manuel Neuer, Craig Gordon, Guillermo Ochoa and Vozinha, all of whom are 40. And there is one 39-year-old other than Messi: the Japan defender Yuto Nagatomo.

Continue reading...

from The Guardian https://ift.tt/MRXCpr7

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