The noise surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo shows no sign of quietening amid widespread speculation that Saudi club Al Nassr is trying to sign the five-time Ballon d바카라Or winner. (More Football News)
But Portugal, which has managed to secure its place in the knockout stages of the World Cup with a game to spare, doesn바카라t look like it has been affected by the focus its most celebrated player is attracting.
바카라He is our captain and probably the most important figure in Portuguese football. It바카라s important to have him by our side,바카라 forward AndrĂ© Silva said at a news conference Wednesday when Ronaldo was consistently referenced.
The reports linking Ronaldo with Al Nassr come after the star had his contract terminated by Manchester United following his explosive interview with Piers Morgan in which he criticized manager Erik ten Hag and the club바카라s owners. The 37-year-old Ronaldo is now a free agent and his availability at club level has been drawing attention in Qatar and beyond.
Representatives for Ronaldo didn바카라t comment on reports regarding his future, while Silva dismissed suggestions such speculation could become a distraction to Portugal in its bid to win the World Cup.
바카라These issues concern the players themselves, in this case Ronaldo, who in this case is very experienced,바카라 Silva said.
Ronaldo is also demanding attention on the field after becoming the first man to score in five World Cups with his penalty in Portugal바카라s opening game 바카라 a 3-2 win against Ghana.
But it was a goal he didn바카라t score in his country바카라s 2-0 win against Uruguay on Monday that has prompted dispute.
Ronaldo claims he made contact with Bruno Fernandes바카라 cross to open the scoring in that match. FIFA determined otherwise following video reviews.
바카라In the end, FIFA attributed it to Bruno Fernandes 바카라 they could even have attributed it to me,바카라 Silva said, laughing. 바카라We all want to do our best for Portugal, we want to score. It바카라s irrelevant who scores.바카라
Portugal plays South Korea on Friday, needing a draw to be certain of topping Group H.
