As quoted by A Bola, Portugal coach Fernando Santos has spoken for the first time following Cristiano Ronaldo’s controversial interview with Piers Morgan, one in which Ronaldo heavily criticised Manchester United and his coach, Erik Ten Hag, while possibly causing a rift with fellow Manchester United and Portugal team-mate Bruno Fernandes as a result. Confirmed Ronaldo didn’t inform the Portuguese FA of his intention to give the interview, Santos said:
“It is a question that has nothing to do with us or with the National Team, zero, the player, the man decided to give a very personal interview, he didn’t even talk about the national team, and therefore we have to respect that… I don’t see anyone in the national team thinking about that matter or commenting on that matter… We have to respect his interview, it has nothing to do with the national team, it has to do with his club, he decided to do it and it certainly has no impact on the national team. Not just him but all the players are highly focused and give me absolute guarantees they’ll face this World Cup with great ambition.”
Portugal will travel to Qatar to face Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea in Group H at the World Cup this week.
GWFN
