Criticism of Cristiano Ronaldo continues after he cried during Portugal's EURO 2024 Round of 16 match against Slovenia, and the latest of which has come from Dutch football legend Ruud Gullit.

The 2016 champions had to dig deep to seal a spot in the quarter-finals, needing post-match penalty shootouts to overcome Slovenia in dramatic fashion. Prior to the shootouts, Ronaldo had a perfect opportunity to break the game's deadlock on the stroke of first-half extra time.

However, the usually dependable forward missed from the spot, leaving the Al-Nassr captain visibly shattered. The 39-year-old, at the time, felt he might have costed his nation a place in the last eight teams of the tournament. Nevertheless, he saved his image by scoring in the penalty shootout, before appearing to apologise for his earlier miss.

His successful attempt from 12 yards, along with Diogo Costa's superhuman saves, which stopped all three of Slovenia's attempts, led Portugal to a 3-0 shootout win. While some newspapers noted his resilience to step up again when it mattered most, though, others were quick to criticise the former Real Madrid superstar over his supposed attempts at stealing the spotlight from his teammates.

What Ruud Gullit Has Said About Ronaldo

The Dutch legend labelled Ronaldo's tears as 'crocodile tears'

Ruud Gullit, who captained the Netherlands to Euros victory in 1988, criticised Ronaldo for what he described as unnecessary 'selfishness' and trying to 'steal the spotlight' during Portugal's drama-filled win.

"Ronaldo tried to take every free-kick given to Portugal, even though he scores one out of every 60. There are those who shoot better than him in Portugal's team, but he wants to steal the spotlight as usual," the former AC Milan and Chelsea midfielder reportedly told media following the post-match interviews, as cited by Tribuna. He continued:

Ronaldo At EURO 2024

The Portugal icon is yet to register a goal at the showpiece tournament

Although Ronaldo holds the record for most finals appearances, most goals, most minutes, and most appearances in the Team of the Tournament at European Championships, he is yet to leave an indellible mark on this summer's edition, with Portugal often finding more joy through the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva.

But it's no secret that the veteran winger-turned-striker hates losing, and it's this mentality, which slows through the rest of the squad, that could provide the key to success in the latter stages of the tournament. Further to this, Portugal boasts a unique blend of wisdom and youth, and manager Roberto Martinez is blessed with a plethora of options in each position, which gives the 2016 winners an outside shot at glory come July 16th.

Already, Portugal have navigated a plain-sailing group stage campaign, affording them to let Georgia brush them aside in the final fixture while key players were rested, while edging past Slovenia in the Round of 16 sees them come up against France in the quarter-finals in a repeat of the 2016 final.