Bruno Fernandes encourages those criticizing his Portugal national teammate Cristiano Ronaldo to keep it up. As of Tuesday, Ronaldo and Bruno are no longer club teammates at Manchester United, with CR7’s departure from the club ending up about as ugly as possible.
United terminated Ronaldo’s contract after he gave an explosive interview that directly hit out at leadership of the club.
Criticism of Ronaldo in the public square has been rather pervasive, often pretty scathing and honestly quite deserved. It’s not just his off-the-pitch behavior either.
This season has been his least effective and productive on the pitch too.
Fernandes says that the critics fire up the 37-year-old, inspiring him to prove them wrong.
“I think he likes to work under that criticism from everyone, so I pray all of you to keep doing that because he gets the best of himself when you guys do that,” Fernandes said after Portugal bested Ghana 3-2 today, in what was one of the tournament’s most exciting games thus far.
“It was a dream come true to play with him in the national team and in the club also, and that is something amazing.”
Ronaldo converted a penalty (#Penaldo) today that made history. He’s now the first player to score a goal in five different World Cups.
“I still share the space with him in the national team and the main thing for me is that Portugal does the best we can in the tournament because if we do it, Cristiano will be happy,” Fernandes continued.
“I will be happy and everyone in Portugal will be happy for us.”
Where Ronaldo goes next remains a mystery- he has no clear-cut destination, as he’s now a free agent.
Up next for him, Bruno Fernandes and the rest of Portugal is a group stage match on Monday against Uruguay.
Paul M. Banks is the Owner/Manager of The Sports Bank and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly contributed to WGN News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.