- According to international teammate Joao Mario, Cristiano Ronaldo is “always happy” when representing Portugal
- His issues at Manchester United won’t hurt the nation’s chances of winning the World Cup
In a fiery TV interview days before the start of the tournament in Qatar, the star forward lashed out at United, stating he felt “betrayed” by the team and did not respect manager Erik ten Hag.
The 37-year-old Ronaldo is getting ready to captain Portugal at the World Cup for what is almost certainly going to be the last time.
“He’s always happy when he is in the national team,” Benfica midfielder Joao Mario told reporters after the squad trained in Lisbon.
“I saw him yesterday and he was quite fine as always. As he has said before, for him it is always a pleasure to be here. He´s totally focused on the national team.
“I don’t see a problem with the timing (of the interview) because everyone always speaks about Cristiano, so it’s fine for us.”
During an interview with a British source, Ronaldo voiced his complaints.
Under new boss Ten Hag, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has played a supporting role for United this year.
He received punishment for declining to replace a player in a 2-0 victory against Tottenham last month.
However, the star player from Portugal had recently made a comeback and had even led the Red Devils to a 3-1 defeat against Aston Villa.
He was not present for United’s final game before a six-week break for the World Cup, a 2-1 triumph against Fulham on Sunday.
The all-time leading scorer in international football, Ronaldo, has started just four Premier League games this year and has only managed one goal.
On November 24, Portugal will face Ghana in Doha to kick off their World Cup campaign. They will also play Uruguay and South Korea in Group H.
“Total and absolute focus on the work of the national team,” Ronaldo wrote in a message he shared on social media on Monday alongside a photo of himself and some of his international teammates.
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