Fernandes affirmed he has no rift with Ronaldo when he claimed Portuguese teammate, Joao Mario, who earlier said the duo had no issue ruined headlines
By Kehinde Okeowo
Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United midfielder and teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo at club and international levels, has cheekily played down talk of a rift with the Portuguese star.
The 37-year-old Ronaldo appears to have played his final game for the Red Devils after publicly criticising his manager, Erik ten Hag, the club hierarchy and the club’s owners, the Glazers during an interview with Piers Morgan.
It was reported that a rift with his compatriot developed thereafter, after Fernandes linked up him and the rest of the Portugal squad on Monday, as an awkward exchange captured on camera, seemingly suggests all is not well between the pair.
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In the now-viral video, Fernandes walked past his United teammate after arriving with the rest of the Portugal squad ahead of their trip to Qatar, and the midfielder even left Ronaldo – who had attempted to shake hands with his compatriot – hanging before reneging and briefly interacting with him before hastily moving on.
Their team-mate, Joao Mario, later claimed that there was no fuss between the two stars, revealing that Ronaldo had jokingly asked Fernandes whether he had travelled to the camp by boat.
Reacting to the development, Fernandes on Tuesday night backed up Mario’s version of events when he cheekily tweeted: “Oh Joao Mario, there you are ruining the headlines!”