Teammates at international and club level, Bruno Fernandes has leapt to the defence of Cristiano Ronaldo after the five-time Ballon d'Or winner came in for more criticism following another underwhelming performance in Portugal's 1-0 defeat to Spain this week.
Ronaldo Urged To Retire Amid Poor Form
The Manchester United duo were on the losing side in Braga on Tuesday, when Alvaro Morata's 88th minute strike sent their Iberian neighbours through to the UEFA Nations League semi-finals at the expense of Ronaldo and company.
It seemed to be another difficult night for the 37-year-old, who was unable to shake his domestic woes off during the international break.
Ronaldo appears to have lost his starting place in the United team, and in the match against Spain, missed a few opportunities to put the 2016 UEFA European Championship winners ahead.
Some members of the Portuguese media have already turned on the Real Madrid icon, urging A Selecao manager Fernando Santos to drop the out-of-sorts forward after he also failed to impress in their previous outing against Czech Republic.
However, Fernandes has insisted that the forward is not the only player to blame and should not bear the brunt of the criticism hurled at the national team, and vowed that it is only a matter of time before Ronaldo finds his form once again.
"It wasn't just Cristiano who failed. We all tried and we couldn't," the midfielder told Diario Record.
"The Spain goalkeeper was very good. Cristiano is doing well, with the ambition to help the national team, as he always was and there's no need to make great stories.
"Cristiano was frustrated, just like all of us. He is a forward, he wants to score goals. There is no need to make a soap around him.
"What he has to do, he has done, and the goals will come. These are phases.
Report: Two Man Utd Stars Want The No. 7 Jersey When Ronaldo Leaves
"When you score, you'll feel more relaxed to continue scoring many goals for us.
"Don't forget that you're the record holder for goals for a national team.
"This result doesn't interfere with the preparation for the World Cup. We knew what we had to do in this competition. Unfortunately, we couldn't."
You must be SIGNED IN to read and post comments.
Click here to register: Sign In
