Cristiano Ronaldo has defended the timing of his interview with Piers Morgan and told the media to stop asking his Portugal team-mates about the situation.
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The Manchester United star sat down for a 90-minute interview on TalkTV which aired over Wednesday and Thursday last week in which he criticised the club’s hierarchy, accused them of ‘betrayal’ & said he would ‘never respect’ Erik ten Hag.
United are reported to be considering tearing up Ronaldo’s contract as a result and released a statement on Friday saying they had ‘initiated appropriate steps’ to deal with the issue.
The interview has overshadowed Portugal’s preparations for the World Cup this year, with Ronaldo’s team-mates and manager besieged with questions about their captain.
Now the 37-year-old has held an impromptu press conference at Portugal’s training ground in an effort to quell the storm he has created, defending his interview with Morgan and rubbished suggestions of any unrest in the camp.
‘Timing is always timing. From you side it is easy to look at how we can choose timings,’ said the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
‘Sometimes you write truths, sometimes you write lies. I don’t have to worry about what others think. I talk when I want to. Everybody knows who I am and what I believe in.’
He added: ‘Please, don’t ask the players about me. Ask about the World Cup. I’m bulletproof and iron clad.’
The former Real Madrid and Juventus forward was also asked about a clip that went viral last week of him reuniting with Bruno Fernandes for the first time after clips from the interview had started to circulate, in which the duo seemed to be frosty with one another.
But now Ronaldo has clarified that they were just ‘playing around’ and he had been giving his United teammate stick for arriving late to the training camp.
‘His plane was late,’ explained Ronaldo when asked about what appeared to be an awkward exchange with Fernandes. ‘I asked him if he had come by boat.’
Bernando Silva and Ruben Neves had all answered questions about Ronaldo after his interview, with the latter saying over the weekend: ‘He doesn’t worry us at all, we as a team know perfectly well what we need to work on so that each individual stands out on gameday.
‘If we’re good as a team, Cristiano will be phenomenal.’
He added: ‘It’s impossible for us to walk around without been asked about the controversy, but I don’t think there’s any controversy at all between us in the changing room. We have a spectacular environment right here.’
