15 October 2023 , 22:09
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Bruno Fernandes insists Cristiano Ronaldo is continuing to adapt his game and hailed the striker’s legacy in world football.
The two stars have been team-mates at international level for Portugal across several years and they played alongside each other at Manchester United for 15 months. Both players also starred for Sporting in their home nation.
Ronaldo became the highest-ever goalscorer in international football in 2021 while he has now scored a total of 125 goals for Portugal in 202 caps. He captained his nation in last year’s World Cup finals in Qatar and wants to have at least one more major tournament, having won the European Championships in 2016.
The superstar had previously indicated he wanted his career at the top level to last until at least 2024, which would include next summer’s European Championship finals. However, fresh reports suggest he wants to remain playing until 2027. He will celebrate his 39 th birthday in February, while he will be aged 41 by the time of the next World Cup – in three years time.
Speaking after Friday’s match against Slovakia, in which Ronaldo scored twice in a 3-2 win, Fernandes explained (via PortuGoal ): “Do I have the notion that I’m playing alongside a history maker? No, I don’t have a notion, I have the certainty! We’re all aware of it.
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“We all understand the force and the impact that Ronaldo has, the force and the impact that Ronaldo has had on the future of many of us Portuguese players, the opportunities that he’s created for the future generations of players, the way others began to look at Portugal.”
Fernandes continued: “They already had started looking at us with more respect, but everything that Ronaldo achieved abroad meant our name was more feared, and obviously we are grateful to have lived in this era, because it was a privilege for us to watch Cristiano play and at the same time I had the chance to play alongside him, like all my other team-mates.
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Ronaldo has bagged a remarkable 125 goals for Portugal (Grzegorz Wajda/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)The United playmaker was doubtful that another player of Ronaldo’s stature may never be produced by Portugal again: “Obviously these tributes are nice to see and it’s right that they are done because he has made history, not only for Portugal but also in the world of football. He’s done extraordinary things that will probably never be repeated – we hope they are for the good of football – but I think it’s unlikely.”
He added: “I hope another Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo appears but I think it’s unlikely and it’s up to us, all the Portuguese, to enjoy him and enjoy what he can still give us, regardless of the fact they often say: ‘ah, he’s not what he used to be’. All players as the years go by have to adapt, have to be different, but Cristiano, although different and always adapting, continues to do that which he does best which is score goals.”