Ronaldo is silent on future
® CRISTIANO RONALDO refused to clarify his future after skipping Portugal media duties yesterday.
The Real Madrid superstar, 32, last week told the European champions he wants to leave after being accused of Spanish tax fraud.
That has put a host of top teams, including Ronaldo’s former club Manchester United and Paris StGermain, on red alert.
Ronaldo was named man of the match in Portugal’s 2-2 draw with Mexico yesterday in the Confederations Cup.
As a result, he was obliged to attend a press conference and answer questions.
But Ronaldo claimed he was too busy receiving treatment.
Instead, he issued a statement, talking only about a controversial game where he helped set up his side’s opener for Ricardo Quaresma.
Ronaldo said: “It was not the result we wanted, the team had almost won and we suffered in the last minute, but this is football.
“We still believe in qualification, we have great possibilities because there are still two games left.
Struck
“We are calm and we have to think about the next game. If we win the next game, we will be one step away from qualifying.”
The match in Kuzan was full of talking points.
Portugal thought they had taken a 20th-minute lead when a free-kick by Ronaldo hit the wall and his left-footed volley on the rebound beat Guillermo Ochoa in the Mexico goal but struck the crossbar.
The ball was then lifted back into the box and found defender Pepe, whose strike crept in at the far post, but referee Nestor Pitana reviewed the goal and the video assistant referee ruled it out for offside.
However, Portugal finally went in front in the 34th minute when Ronaldo squared the ball to Quaresma, who rounded Ochoa and slotted the ball into an empty net.
Mexico hit back just before half-time, though, when Carlos Vela’s ball into the box was met by a diving header from Javier Hernandez.
The game then came alive in a frantic final five minutes with Southampton right-back Cedric Soares restoring Portugal’s advantage thanks to a deflected shot.
But the Euro 2016 champions were denied all three points in stoppagetime when Mexico’s Hector Moreno powered in a header off the far post.