Following criticism of Cristiano Ronaldo's underwhelming performance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Italian forward Mario Balotelli Barwuah, who is of Ghanaian heritage, defended the Portuguese star.

Ronaldo has been heavily criticized for his performance in the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the subsequent elimination of Portugal in the quarter-finals by the Atlas Lions of Morocco.

Amidst the media crusade, Balotelli, who is not a fan of Ronaldo and has not been shy to make it public, has said that Ronaldo should rather be celebrated and not crucified because of what he has done for football.

"I'm not a big fan of Ronaldo, and you know it. But for what he has done for football, he deserves more respect," Mario Balotelli said, as quoted by popular football enthusiast Frank Khalid on Twitter.

Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty goal against the Black Stars was his only goal in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar after featuring in five games against Ghana, South Korea, Uruguay, Switzerland, and Morocco.

Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Euros and the UEFA Nations League for Portugal, but it is very likely that he will end his career without the World Cup.