The majority of the Manchester United squad have almost certainly seen the last of Cristiano Ronaldo, but for two of his colleagues, there will remain close contact in the Portugal camp and the process of moving on from his excoriating comments.
Ronaldo was an unexpected presence at a Portugal press conference in Qatar earlier on Monday, trying to defuse the tension between himself and Bruno Fernandes and insist their terse greeting last week was actually just a joke.
As de-facto United captain, Fernandes should really be angry about Ronaldo's unauthorised interview with Piers Morgan and the criticisms of the club, Erik ten Hag and his own teammates.
READ MORE: Ronaldo speaks publicly for first time since bombshell interview
Fernandes is clearly a more influential player for United when Ronaldo isn't in the team and the 37-year-old's departure will probably be a bonus for the midfielder. When the forward was asked about the admiration he might have for any United teammates, the absence of Fernandes' name felt telling.
But while the focus of Ronaldo's 90-minute PR exercise with Morgan has been on the narrative he's trying to spin, there was one United teammate who would have been happy with his comments
Ronaldo's friendship with Diogo Dalot has been unexpected, but the Portugal teammates are close despite the 14-year difference between them. When Ronaldo turned his fire on this generation of young players in the interview, he did reserve praise for Dalot.
“If you ask me what I see in Manchester United, I can mention probably Dalot. Diogo Dalot is an example. He is young, but he is very, very professional," he said.
“And I’m not doubting that he’s going to have longevity in football because he’s young, he’s smart, intelligent, and is very professional."
It might feel like faint praise now, given how unpopular Ronaldo is around Carrington, but it's still significant for Dalot and there is more to it than the experienced player defending one of his friends. Everyone at United has seen the development in Dalot's game this season.
There is a certain irony to the fact that Dalot's emergence has come under the tutelage of Ten Hag, a manager Ronaldo has metaphorically tried to throw under the bus this month on more than one occasion, but Dalot has improved so much because of his professionalism to take on new ideas and his intelligence to implement them.
Ten Hag asks a lot of his full-backs and Dalot has taken to those ideas quickly. He drifts infield when the ball is on the other flank and has been a threat not just as an overlapping full-back, but in all aspects of the game.
The fact Dalot has missed just one game this season and that was due to a suspension is telling. There is no competition at right-back but he has still made that spot his own and any new additions there are coming in to challenge him, rather than as a guaranteed first-choice.
READ NEXT:
