Are Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal under pressure because of his Manchester United conflict?

Cristiano Ronaldo’s issues at Manchester United won’t have a negative effect on Portugal’s World Cup campaign. At least that’s the view of Seleção midfielder João Mário.

Cristiano Ronaldo hugely critical of Manchester United in upcoming interview

Portugal skipper Ronaldo has been in the headlines throughout the season due to a seemingly never-ending conflict with the Red Devils and their manager Erik Ten Hag. The latest development is a controversial interview with British television personality Piers Morgan, which will be broadcast in full in the next couple of days.

In the interview, Ronaldo is fiercely critical of Ten Hag and his coaching staff, who he claims have shown him a lack of respect, while he also cites his disappointment at the state of the club as a whole, claiming that nothing has changed in his 12 years away from Old Trafford in terms of “technology and infrastructure”. Even former United teammate Wayne Rooney, who had opined that Ronaldo’s behaviour at the club this season had been ‘unacceptable’, doesn’t come out of it unscathed.

If you’d like to know how you can watch it, we’ve got you covered right here.

Portugal midfielder João Mário: “We’re used to dealing with great pressure”

But Benfica midfield man João Mário, speaking to the press on Tuesday, insists his international captain has left his club problems behind in Manchester.

“I don’t see a problem with the timing of the interview, so it’s fine for us. I don’t think it puts further pressure on him or on us. We’re used to dealing with great pressure.”

“It’s not the first time that a player comes to the national team having a problem with his club. One of the advantages is that we put everything to the side when being here. When we get to the national team, it’s another working group and we try to focus on what’s most important.”

Sources: Cristiano Ronaldo may never play for Manchester United again

According to ESPN, sources claim that Ten Hag has told the United hierarchy that Ronaldo should never play for the Old Trafford outfit again because of the interview. Football lawyer David Seligman, meanwhile, tweeted earlier this week, “Manchester United would likely have ground to terminate Ronaldo’s contract – material breach of the implied duty of trust and confidence, as well as express terms regarding bringing the club into disrepute.”

Clips doing the rounds on social media have hinted at tension within the Portugal camp since the roster met up to prepare for the World Cup in Qatar. Club teammate Bruno Fernandes appeared to give Ronaldo a frosty reception on the first day of the camp, while the former Real Madrid star was then involved in an incident with a seemingly angry Manchester City full-back João Cancelo out on the training field. Isolated moments taken out of context or a sign of something more serious?

Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup record for Portugal

The spotlight will, as ever, be on Ronaldo as he heads into his fifth World Cup. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has scored more international goals (117) than any other player in history and is the top European appearance-maker (191). He has scored seven times in 17 appearances at the World Cup but hasn’t been able to lead his country beyond the semi-final stage, where they were eliminated in 2006. In the 2018 World Cup, Portugal were beaten by Uruguay in the round of 16.

Portugal’s 2022 World Cup Group H schedule

Thursday, 24 November – Portugal vs Ghana

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Monday, 28 November – Portugal vs Uruguay

Friday, 2 December – Portugal vs South Korea