Cristiano Ronaldo announced himself to the world with his breakthrough move to Manchester United back in 2003. The pacey winger spent three years developing his craft at the biggest club in England, which eventually came to bite the nation in July 2006.
In the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, Portugal faced England in the quarterfinals of the tournament. The highly contested match already saw a controversial moment in Wayne Rooney’s red card in the 61st minute before going into a penalty shootout with a 0-0 scoreline after extra time.
England’s record in the penalty shootout has been abysmal throughout history. Since 1990, England has played out 10 penalty shootouts in three different competitions but has won only three of them. 2006 was no different as Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, reliable penalty-takers for their club, missed crucial penalties to add pressure on the rest of the squad.
Jamie Carragher went on to take his penalty when the score was 2-1 in favor of Portugal. Unfortunately, his effort was saved by Ricardo, which gave Ronaldo a chance to win the match for Portugal. As the winger was placing the ball on the spot, the commentator addressed Ronaldo as the ‘Tormentor of England.’
Ronaldo struck the winning penalty, rounding off an awful night for the Three Lions and Jamie Carragher. Ronaldo was a menace to the England defense throughout the night. He convinced the referee to give Wayne Rooney a red card and scored the winning penalty.
The title of ‘Tormentor of England’ fits Ronaldo for that night only, as England falls under the lucky few nations against which the Portuguese has never scored in his international career. He has zero goals in three appearances against them.
Jamie Carragher claims Cristiano Ronaldo is nowhere near Lionel Messi
That night, Jamie Carragher and Cristiano Ronaldo shared the spotlight for their polar opposite performances in the penalty shootout. Fans speculate that the elimination of Ronaldo caused hatred towards him by England’s national stars.
The accusation might carry some weight when fans read the strong comments from Jamie Carragher on the GOAT debate. As per the former England international, Ronaldo is nowhere near in the race for the title against Lionel Messi.
🎙️ Jamie Carragher: “It was never a debate. Ronaldo’s nowhere near the level of Messi.” pic.twitter.com/3jGAIoQgVP
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) November 30, 2023
Carragher debated on the topic with ex-USMNT player Charlie Davis. He stated: “It was never a debate. Ronaldo’s nowhere near the level of Messi. Ronaldo is one of the greatest goalscorers of all time, Messi is the greatest player of all time, it’s not even close. Ronaldo scored goals, Messi scored goals and was an unbelievable player.”
There is no way that fans can prove that the 2006 World Cup carried weight for Jamie Carragher while selecting his GOAT, however, that night in Germany will always be cemented in the memories of all those England internationals.