That’s the view of Portugal boss Fernando Santos who was without the Juventus star in last night’s 3-2 win over Poland.
Cristiano Ronaldo has not been included in the Portugal squad amid rape allegations against him, which have been strongly denied.
Andre Silva and Bernardo Silva both netted in the win over Poland, as well as a Kamil Gilk own goal, to put the Euro 2016 winners top of their Nations League group.
But Santos has insisted that Ronaldo was missed despite the victory.
“No team can be better without the best in the world, it’s not worth talking about who’s not there,” Santos said.
“When Cristiano plays, he is more advanced on the left side and gives us more ability to finish.
“When he plays we have to find a solution to get the ball to him and when he comes inside we have to have a player to cover on the left. This is how we will continue.
“We started well, controlled the ball, but conceded a goal. It could have been a difficult time but the team stayed calm, controlled the rhythms.
“We scored the third goal and then there was a little issue with losing the ball in dangerous zones. We had a lot of problems.
“Portugal has only one focus, to win, the results in official matches show this.
“We do not get to be a European champion without wanting to win. A few times [we are] more defensive, others more offensive, but you have to defend well, otherwise you will not win.”
Ronaldo is 33 and this summer left Real Madrid to join Juventus.
He has had a long rivalry with Barcelona star Lionel Messi.
And Juventus ace Paulo Dybala has expressed his surprise at the pair’s longevity.
“Messi and Ronaldo should be getting worse (for age reasons) but instead they are still doing extraordinary things,” Dybala told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“They are not normal.
“My objective is to be the best of the humans.”