Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo eyes elite World Cup record amid Manchester United woes

Cristiano Ronaldo will be eyeing an elite record when he takes the field for Portugal in the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022. The Portugal captain has had to deal with massive criticism online after he recently targeted his club Manchester United and manager Erik Ten Hag among others in an explosive interview.

While his Unite career seems to be all but over as the club has reportedly decided to take legal action against the Portuguese star and terminate his current contract, Ronaldo will be hoping to keep his off-field issues aside when he leads Portugal in the World Cup.

One of the greatest footballers of all time, Ronaldo will be playing his last World Cup in Qatar this year and will be hoping to break a World Cup goalscoring record held by Portuguese legend Eusebio. Ronaldo needs just three more goals to surpass him and become Portugal's all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup history.

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Eusebio, who scored nine World Cup goals in his career, had led Portugal to the semi-final of the 1966 edition of the tournament. Portugal had lost against England in the semi-final at Wembley shattering Eusebio's dream. Ronaldo has seven goals to his name in four World Cups so far and needs three more to go past Eusebio.

Portugal manager Fernando Santos has backed Ronaldo to break Eusebio's record and believes the 37-year-old can go on to achieve even what the 'Black Pearl' couldn't. Despite the current turmoil at United, Santos said Ronaldo sti has the same hunger as before.

"Cristiano, like all of the players I have called up, comes with a huge hunger to show his ability and to make Portugal the world champion. Is Ronaldo hungrier? Let’s wait and see," said Santos.

"He has always been hungry - that’s why he has stayed at the top of the game for so long. I am not interested in what he was like a month ago. He has played four games for Manchester United since then," he added.

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Ronaldo will be hoping to finish on a high and lead Portugal to glory in what is his final World Cup. If he manages to find the back of the net in Qatar, Ronaldo will become the first player to score in five World Cups.