Cristiano Ronaldo insists his Manchester United career is behind him as he appeared in a very brief press conference following Portugal’s win over Ghana.
Ronaldo was named man of the match after scoring a penalty, in a record fifth World Cup tournament.
It’s been an eventful week for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner as Premier League side United announced they had mutually agreed to terminate his contract.
This followed his explosive interview with Piers Morgan where he criticized manager Erik ten Hag and the club hierarchy.
Following the 3-2 win, Ronaldo spoke to the press for just two minutes and 12 seconds, answering two questions.
The 37-year-old said: “It was a beautiful moment – my fifth World Cup.
“We won, we started off on the right foot. A very important victory.
“We know the first game is crucial. But also a world record. The first player to score in five World Cups. It makes me proud.
“The most important step is that we won. It was a week that ended this chapter [with United].
“This chapter is closed. We wanted to start with a good foot. We won. I could help my team.
“Anything else doesn’t matter.”
The goal was important for Ronaldo, but even breaking another record he couldn’t escape Lionel Messi.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner celebrated with his ‘Siuuu’ celebration, before being mobbed by his Portuguese team-mates.
Looking closer at the photographs, a portrait of career rival Messi could be seen in the background.
Their careers have been intrinsically linked and even when Ronaldo broke more records, the Argentine was never far away.
He was asked about the photo after the game and said: ‘I’ve seen it before. It is a very beautiful!
And Piers Morgan certainly didn’t let it go unnoticed, tweeting a photo with the caption: ‘Even Messi knows’ alongside a picture of a goat, suggesting he’s the ‘greatest of all time’ .
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