Bernardo Silva says there is no rift between Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal teammates after he was dropped to the bench for a recent World Cup game.
Ronaldo was shockingly left out of the starting lineup for the round of 16 game against Switzerland, eventually coming on for the last 17 minutes.
Given how Portugal cruised to a 6-1 victory without Ronaldo, with his replacement Goncalo Ramos scoring a hat-trick, the striker is not expected to return to the side for the quarter-final against Morocco.
It has been a tough campaign for the 37-year-old so far, having been dropped, and released from Manchester United due to form and attitude issues.
And with these issues now reoccurring at international level, there have been reports that Ronaldo has had a falling out with his national team, even threatening to quit the World Cup at Qatar.
This speculation has since been quashed by Portugal boss Fernando Santos and Ronaldo’s teammates, with Bernardo the latest to speak out on the matter.
Asked if Ronaldo could create any problems in the camp, the Manchester City midfielder said: ‘I don’t think so. I think he is helping us.
‘Today he showed a great personality inside the dressing room, and he was fine.
‘Of course, sometimes he might not be happy because everyone wants to play. But he helped us a lot in his role and his attitude was great.’
Ronaldo has been Portugal’s skipper since 2007 and it seems is still very well-respected by his teammates, who are now aiming to reach the World Cup semi-finals for the first time since 2006.
Bernardo’s comments were echoed by Ronaldo’s former Manchester United teammate Bruno Fernandes who said: ‘Do you think anyone likes to be on the bench?
‘I don’t think Cristiano would be happy. If the manager put me on the bench in the next game, I would be angry.
‘Cristiano is doing his job, he’s doing his part, he’s happy with the result because the goal for everyone is to go as far as possible.’
