Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo has broken his silence in the aftermath of his explosive interview with Piers Morgan.
The Portuguese striker made a number of outlandish claims in a one-on-one chat with the controversial TV personality. Among a huge number of criticisms he fired at his current employers, the former Real Madrid forward claimed that he was "betrayed" by the Red Devils, whilst he did not have any "respect" for boss Erik ten Hag.
Now in training with the Portuguese national team ahead of the World Cup, Ronaldo has penned a short statement on social media and refused to be drawn into the talk surrounding the controversial interview. Instead, he instead decided to focus on his Portuguese teammates as their preparations for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar got underway.
Taking to Instagram with a message to his teammates, he wrote: "Total and absolute focus on National Team work. United group, towards one objective: realise the dream of all Portuguese people!"
Ronaldo is certainly expected to be a controversial figure in the Portugese camp ahead of the World Cup. A 191-time international, he has previously made 17 appearances at previous tournaments in his career and has scored seven goals. He will certainly hope to play a key role as Fernando Santos' men attempt to win their first-ever title.
However, tensions with international and club teammate Diogo Dalot are unlikely to be comfortable with reports suggesting that Ronaldo's recent actions have left large swaths of the Old Trafford dressing room furious.
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Ronaldo's post though featured both him and Dalot posing alongside PSG star Vitinha, Wolverhampton Wanderers' goalkeeper Jose Sa and the striker's former Real Madrid teammate Pepe - suggesting that things are currently cordial at the very least between the two Man Utd stars.
Portugal boss Santos has already given his thoughts on Ronaldo and potential doubts over his form ahead of the tournament. The striker had only scored three goals for the Red Devils this season having fallen down the pecking order under Ten Hag.
Speaking at the unveiling of his squad for the trip to Qatar, he said: "All the players I have summoned are part of the plan [which] I am going to outline. Cristiano is in this [group].
"In the last four games, he played. Right now he's playing. All the players I summoned come hungry to win and make Portugal world champion, Ronaldo included."
More revelations regarding the veteran forward and his relationship with United are expected to surface over the coming days with his full interview set to be aired across both Wednesday and Thursday evening.
He has somewhat of a delay before he can take to the pitch for the first time in the World Cup though. Portugal's Group H opener against Ghana does not take place until Thursday, November 24 (4pm GMT).
