News Agency
\nLISBON
\nCristiano Ronaldo is \u201calways happy\u201d when playing for Portugal and his problems at Manchester United will not damage the country\u00b4s prospects at the World Cup, international teammate Joao Mario said on Tuesday.
\nThe superstar forward blasted United in an explosive TV interview days before the start of the tournament in Qatar, saying he felt \u201cbetrayed\u201d by the club and does not respect manager Erik ten Hag.
\nRonaldo, 37, is now preparing to lead Portugal at a World Cup for what is almost certain to be the final time.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s always happy when he is in the national team,\u201d Benfica midfielder Joao Mario told reporters after the squad trained in Lisbon.
\n\u201cI saw him yesterday and he was quite fine as always. As he has said before, for him it is always a pleasure to be here. He\u00b4s totally focused on the national team.
\n\u201cI don\u00b4t see a problem with the timing (of the interview) because everyone always speaks about Cristiano, so it\u00b4s fine for us.\u201d
\nRonaldo aired his grievances in an interview with British channel TalkTV.
\nThe five-time Ballon d\u00b4Or winner has been a peripheral figure for United this season under new manager Ten Hag.
\nHe was disciplined after refusing to come on as a substitute in a 2-0 win over Tottenham last month.
\nBut the Portugal superstar had returned to the side in recent weeks and even captained the Red Devils in a 3-1 loss at Aston Villa.
\nHowever, he was absent from the squad for Sunday\u00b4s 2-1 victory over Fulham in United\u00b4s final match before a six-week break for the World Cup.
\nRonaldo, the all-time top scorer in international football, has started just four games in the Premier League this season and scored only once.
\nHis Portugal side open their World Cup campaign against Ghana in Doha on November 24 and will also face Uruguay and South Korea in Group H.
\nIn a message posted on social media on Monday, along with a photo of himself and some of his international team-mates, Ronaldo said: \u201cTotal and absolute focus on the work of the national team.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
News Agency LISBON Cristiano Ronaldo is \u201calways happy\u201d when playing for Portugal and his problems at Manchester United will not damage the country\u00b4s prospects at the World Cup, international teammate Joao Mario said on Tuesday. The superstar forward blasted United in an explosive TV interview days before the start of the tournament in Qatar, saying […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295695,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-295671","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n