I’M BULLETPROOF ...I WEAR AN IRON SUIT, SAYS DEFIANT RONALDO

A DEFIANT Cristiano Ronaldo claimed to be ‘ bulletproof ’ yesterday as he spoke publicly for the first time since Manchester United moved to sack him over his interview with Piers Morgan.

Ronaldo (below) appeared at an impromptu press conference at Portugal’s World Cup base in Qatar and insisted: ‘I speak when I want to.’

The 37- year- old United star also urged reporters to direct any questions about the explosive interview towards him and not the rest of the squad ahead of Portugal’s Group H opener against Ghana on Thursday.

The two-part chat with Morgan has effectively ended Ronaldo’s career at Old Trafford after he criticised the club, the owners, manager Erik ten Hag and some of his team-mates.

United’s lawyers have taken the first steps towards cancelling the rest of Ronaldo’s contract which would have been worth £ 16million in wages. However, the five-time

Ballon d’Or winner seemed unrepentant yesterday as he defended his right to speak out over his treatment at Old Trafford.

‘I am bulletproof — I wear an iron suit,’ said Ronaldo.

‘In my life, the best timing is always my timing. I don’t have to think about what other people think. I speak when I want. The players know me really well for many years and know the type of person I am and what I believe in.

‘It’s an ambitious group that is hungry and focused. So I’m sure it (the interview) won’t shake the dressing room’s concentration and focus.

‘Stop asking my team-mates about me. If you ask other players about Cristiano Ronaldo, I would be upset. If you want to ask them about the World Cup and the team, I would like you to do that.’

Ronaldo also played down talk of a rift with team- mates Bruno Fernandes and Joao Cancelo. Both players were filmed in awkward exchanges with Ronaldo when the Portugal squad assembled in Lisbon last week.

‘ I played a joke with Bruno, with whom I have an excellent relationship,’ explained Ronaldo. ‘His flight was delayed and I asked if he had come by boat.

‘It was a joke, as it was with Joao Cancelo. He was a little sad, I pulled him up. The environment in the changing room is excellent. No problems.’

Ronaldo, who will be appearing at his fifth World Cup, played down suggestions that lifting the trophy would settle the debate about who is the greatest between him and Argentina’s Lionel Messi.

‘ Even if I win the World Cup that will continue,’ he added. ‘Some people like me more, some less. It’s like in life: some like blondes, some like brunettes.’