Manchester United duo Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes have voiced similar sentiments on former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo and how he responds to criticism.
The ex-Red Devils superstar recently saw his Old Trafford exit confirmed, less than a week after his bombshell interview with Piers Morgan Uncensored aired. During the interview, Ronaldo took aim at everyone from manager Erik ten Hag to United's owner, the Glazer family.
The 37-year-old forward used the opportunity to respond to some of the stick he received in the first half of the season. Ronaldo has come under fire from a number of high-profile footballing figures, including people he once shared a dressing room with, like Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville.
Some saw Ronaldo's comments as a sign of sensitivity, but Maguire and Fernandes clearly don't think so - as both have previously claimed the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is at his best when he is responding to criticism.
United captain Maguire has come in for more than his fair share of scrutiny since joining the Red Devils three-and-a-half years ago, but insisted if a figure like Ronaldo is a target for backlash, then nobody is safe.
"As a footballer, nobody likes being criticised," the United captain explained. "I've played with Cristiano Ronaldo for the last couple of years and, in my opinion, he's one of the greatest players to ever kick a football.
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"He gets criticised day in and day out, so if it's going to happen to him, and with the position I'm in at Manchester United, it's going to be part and parcel of the game.
"He's the greatest player, for me, to ever kick a ball and he gets criticised daily, so it's going to happen to each and every one of us. You've just got to work hard, go into training. That's what I always tell myself. That's all you can do."
Speaking in Qatar after Portugal's first game of their World Cup campaign against Ghana, Fernandes revealed he shares a similar stance on his national team captain - who opened the scoring with an emphatic penalty.
While some worried entering the World Cup that controversy surrounding his future at club level would lead to a decline in performance, Ronaldo was not at all fazed as he led his country to a crucial win.
"I think he likes to work under that criticism from everyone, so I pray all of you to keep doing that because he gets the best of himself when you guys do that," Fernandes told reporters of the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.
"I still share the space with him in the national team and the main thing for me is that Portugal does the best we can in the tournament because if we do it, Cristiano will be happy, I will be happy and everyone in Portugal will be happy for us."
