Anthony Martial has roundly dismissed reports of friction between Cristiano Ronaldo and his Manchester United teammates.
The Red Devils' poor season on the pitch has played out against a backdrop of poor relations between factions in the dressing room. Interim manager Ralf Rangnick has struggled to impose his authority on the squad since his appointment late last year, while there were also issues under his predecessor, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Reports in January claimed Ronaldo was on one side of a dressing room divide along with his fellow Portuguese-speakers, namely Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Dalot, Fred and Alex Telles. Further, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner was said to be furious about Rangnick's decision to drop him for the Manchester derby, which United lost 4-1.
The German claimed Ronaldo was injured and the player opted to return to his homeland rather than cheer on his teammates at the Etihad, much to their surprise.
Suggestions the former Real Madrid and Juventus talisman is unhappy have only been enhanced throughout the season with his body language facing scrutiny. He could not hide his fury on Tuesday night as the Red Devils bowed out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage with an underwhelming 2-1 aggregate defeat by Atletico Madrid.
There is certainly a case to suggest Ronaldo's mood is less than rosy at Old Trafford despite the fanfare which met his return to his the club last summer.
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However, fellow attacker Martial insists his teammate is much-loved in the dressing room and declared reports of bad blood between players are simply "not true".
"Cristiano is a top professional, one of the best in the history of the game," Martial - who is spending the second half of the season on loan at Sevilla - told Spanish outlet AS.
"We all love him. There are things that are said in the media that are not true. I was in that dressing room and I know what happened."
While Ronaldo cut a frustrated figure against Atletico, he was at his brilliant best against Tottenham last Saturday with a hat-trick to clinch an important Premier League victory. The treble took his tally for the season to 18 goals in 32 games, showing he is still a potent force even aged 37.
Martial, meanwhile, is still waiting for his first La Liga goal for Sevilla but opened his account for the club against Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League in February. The Frenchman recently returned to fitness after missing three games with a muscle injury and will hope to feature against West Ham on Thursday.
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