Portuguese Football in English
Manchester United have announced the immediate departure of Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo by mutual consent.
Ronaldo ends his second spell at Old Trafford with over six months left on his contract, as the club respond to his shocking television interview aired earlier this month.
Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz is coming under increasing pressure as coach of Iran after expressing his frustration with travelling fans for their continued demonstrations during Monday’s 6-2 hammering by England.
Iranian supporters unveiled various protest signs and booed the national anthem, while all players opted against singing, in solidarity with civil unrest amongst the Persian population. Speaking after the heavy loss to England, Queiroz surprised many by criticising those who voiced their opposition in Al-Rayyan, where his side found themselves 4-0 down just after the hour mark.
Miguel Crespo is fast becoming one of the most talked-about midfielders outside Europe’s major leagues. The midfielder’s form under Jorge Jesus at Turkish giants Fenerbahçe has propelled the previously little-known Portuguese to being linked with some of the continent’s biggest clubs.
A place in Fernando Santos’ Portugal squad for the World Cup was never a realistic prospect for the 26-year-old, but while Crespo still harbours ambitions of representing the Selecao in the future, there is now the emerging option of playing for his adopted country Turkey.
As the Portuguese World Cup squad gathered in Oeiras to prepare for the upcoming tournament in Qatar, several of the Seleção’s attacking players arrived off the back of positive showings for their clubs this weekend.
While much news coverage has centred on Cristiano Ronaldo, there were goals this weekend for Rafael Leão of AC Milan, who was celebrating his Serie A Player of the Month award, as well as André Silva in Germany and João Félix in Spain. Meanwhile elsewhere, there were goals for veteran forwards Bebé and Nélson Oliveira, as well as Portugal U21 international Dany Mota on another goal-laden weekend for Luso exports.
Cristiano Ronaldo has dropped a bombshell interview just hours after Manchester United’s final match before the World Cup, discussing his deep disappointment and unhappiness with his treatment at the club.
United beat Fulham 2-1 on Sunday afternoon, but attention quickly switched to Ronaldo’s television interview with British journalist Piers Morgan, which will be broadcast later this week. The programme surely spells the end of Ronaldo’s second stint at the club.
