Cristiano Ronaldo has now clarified that he and his Manchester United and Portugal teammate Bruno Fernandes are not at odds.
Following CR7’s bombshell interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV, the 37-year-old appeared to have an awkward reunion with his compatriot last week as the Portugal squad met up for the World Cup.
Ronaldo said he does not respect manager Erik ten Hag and hit out at the Glazers, who own the club, in a 90-minute sit-down over his recent difficulties at United.
His comments were made public just hours after United’s final game before the Premier League’s mid-season break for the World Cup.
A few days later, a video emerged of Ronaldo coming face-to-face with one of his United teammates, Fernandes, for the first time since his interview.
At first viewing, Fernandes appeared to ignore Ronaldo before reluctantly shaking his hand and muttering something which seemed to surprise the striker.
However, Ronaldo appeared at a Portugal press conference on Monday and insisted the interaction has been misinterpreted.
“In these final stages of the competition I think that there are always those types of moments of controversy,” he said.
“We were just playing around – we have great relations.
“His plane was late and I asked him, ‘Did you come by boat?’ I was goofing around.
“Same with [Joao] Cancelo. He was sad during practice. I said, ‘Wake up, come on, you’ve got this!’ Another controversy on your end.”
Bruno Fernandes gives Cristiano Ronaldo a frosty reception as Portugal meet for the World Cup. pic.twitter.com/W5rDdMirc8
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) November 15, 2022
Portugal begins their World Cup campaign in Qatar when they take on Ghana on Thursday, November 24, a match you can listen to live on talkSPORT.
They then face Uruguay on November 28 before taking on South Korea in Group H on December 2.
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