"He's always been that sort of a character" - Carragher insists Cristiano Ronaldo isn't worth the 'hassle' for managers anymore

Jamie Carragher recently made an interesting claim about Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese ace is yet to confirm anything about his future club after parting ways with Manchester United via mutual agreement last month.

Carragher has now stated that the forward has always been a strong character. He claimed that Ronaldo could be deemed difficult to manage but his performances used to overshadow the task of managing him. However, the former Liverpool defender believes that this is not the case anymore.

Speaking on the Diary of a CEO podcast, Carragher said (via Daily Mail):

"Ronaldo hasn't changed, he's always been that sort of character, everyone's known that - but he was worth the hassle, And that's like everything in football, when we talk about a manager making a decision, can you put up with that?"

He added:

"You don't cut off your nose to spite your face, but when it gets to that stage where you're thinking "this is becoming more of a problem"... when a manager looks at you as a player, every manager wants the same thing: high performance, low maintenance. That's it. When it starts getting weighted to the high maintenance and the scales are more tilted towards high maintenance, it's time to go."

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Jamie Carragher lauded Cristiano Ronaldo's one particular quality

Morocco v Portugal: Quarter Final - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: Cristiano Ronaldo

Despite not being the former Real Madrid man's biggest admirer, Carragher couldn't help but praise his mental toughness.

He said:

"I'm no huge Ronaldo fan, I think that's pretty obvious and that's not for his footballing ability, [but] I've actually got so much admiration for his mental strength. I think it's unbelievable."

He added:

"I think [he's] probably one of the strongest players mentally, because he's had that thing his whole career, for how good he is, he's still had Messi on his shoulder. He could never almost sit back and say "I'm the best" and relax, he's always had this constant "yeah but you're not as good as Messi."

Carragher further said about the GOAT debate between the Portugal international and Lionel Messi:

"I know it splits people, but I would say the majority of people would probably side with Messi, I think that they do. And I think to always have that thing of trying to prove people wrong, and I've got that but on a completely different level, it's almost like he feels he's not ready to leave."

The former defender concluded:

"Everyone says he's one of the best players of all time and I can't help but admire that drive, because I've got that drive - just not that ability that he's got!"

Ronaldo is currently a free agent and reports have linked him to Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr FC.