"Missed when he is not there" - Hugo Almeida says Portugal are reliant on Cristiano Ronaldo and he "won't last forever"

Former Portugal striker Hugo Almeida believes Os Navegadores will severely miss Cristiano Ronaldo when "he's not there."

Portugal felt Ronaldo's absence in their 1-0 defeat to Switzerland in the UEFA Nations League on Sunday night (12 June). The Manchester United superstar was rested for the clash.

Portugal won the reverse fixture by a 4-0 margin earlier in the month, with Ronaldo scoring twice.

But on Sunday, they conceded 30 seconds into the match and despite trying hard, failed to find an equalizer.

Speaking about his compatriot's impact on the national team, Almeida told Bola Branca (via United In Focus:)

“Ronaldo is a goalscoring machine, he’s the best player in the world. It’s not just words, he shows it on the pitch. The national team has players with a lot of quality who can score goals, but yesterday the ball didn’t want to go in. Unfortunately for football fans, Ronaldo won’t last forever and is (will be) missed when he’s not there.”

The former Real Madrid superstar has racked up 117 goals in 188 games for Portugal and is the highest scorer in international football.

Cristiano Ronaldo crucial for both his club and country

Ronaldo has been Portugal's talisman for quite some time now. Despite the team boasting stars like Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Ricardo Quaresma and Nani amongst others over the years, it has been Ronaldo who has been the most consistent of the lot.

He is also a vital player for his club, Manchester United. The 37-year-old returned to his old hunting ground last summer from Juventus.

He picked up the scoring mantle at Old Trafford last season, bagging 24 goals for a United team which otherwise failed miserably. The Red Devils finished sixth in the Premier League and were prematurely knocked out of all cup competitions.

Going into the new season, the onus of scoring goals will once again be on the veteran forward. New manager Erik ten Hag might want to set up the team in the best way possible to get the most out of the Portuguese superstar.