Ronaldo downplays affect of tell-all pre-World Cup interview

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo is unfazed by the drama created by his explosive pre- World Cup interview on British TV and maintained Monday the ambiance in Portugal’s squad was “wonderful” heading into the match.The Manchester United striker gave an impromptu information convention at Portugal’s coaching base within the outskirts of Doha the place he tried to quell any considerations his tell-all interview with Piers Morgan revealed final week had affected squad morale.“The timing for me is my timing,” Ronaldo mentioned. “I don’t have to fret about what others suppose. I’m completely satisfied this received’t have any affect on the nationwide group.“Each participant, supervisor, president and package man, all of them know who I’m, what I feel. They know me since I used to be 11 years outdated. They received’t be influenced by what individuals say or write.”Manchester United is weighing up easy methods to cope with Ronaldo within the wake of an interview the membership didn’t sanction, which contained criticism of the angle of a few of his teammates.And there was intrigue surrounding a seemingly frosty reception Ronaldo bought from Bruno Fernandes, his United teammate, after they met up for the primary time at Portugal’s pre-World Cup coaching camp in Lisbon.That was additionally performed down by Ronaldo.“I merely made a joke with him as a result of he arrived late on account of his flight,” he mentioned, “and I requested if he had come by boat. It was a joke and also you (the media) did a storm.”“Every little thing round Cristiano is all the time a motive for debate and talks,” Ronaldo added. “We see it on the TV information. It’s regular. I perceive it. However I’ll repeat as soon as once more: the surroundings on the nationwide group is superb.”That is probably the 37-year-old Ronaldo’s final probability to win the World Cup, the one main title lacking from the bulging resume of one of many world’s biggest ever gamers.So, is he feeling the stress in Qatar?“The stress is kind of the identical as all the time,” he mentioned. “I’ve been coping with it since a really younger age. Generally I do it properly, generally I don’t. It is dependent upon the state of affairs, second and warmth. I’m not excellent, however I really feel able to tackle the stress when I’ve to.”The fortunes of Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have lengthy been intertwined and the Argentina star is in an identical place to his nice rival as this may even most likely be his final World Cup.The 2 soccer greats created waves on social media by each posting a photograph on social media of them partaking in a sport of chess on high of a Louis Vuitton briefcase.So, a Portugal vs. Argentina ultimate, anybody?“Being trustworthy, I wish to be the one to offer a checkmate towards him,” Ronaldo mentioned of Messi. “Let’s see. It could be lovely. Because it occurred in chess, it could be magic to occur in soccer as properly.”Portugal’s first group sport is towards Ghana on Thursday.___AP World Cup protection: https://Fifanews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports___Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80