"I saw that he was embarrassed" – Cristiano Ronaldo opens up on interaction with Portugal and Sporting CP wonderkid Geovany Quenda
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed how shy Sporting CP star Geovany Quenda was during his first meeting with the teenager.
Quenda, 17, has recently emerged as one of the hottest Portuguese prospects due to his promising performances for Sporting this season. As a result, the left-footed winger has been handed a Portugal call-up by men's national team manager Roberto Martinez.
When asked if he is having to act as a father figure for his youthful teammates in the national team camp, Ronaldo responded (h/t GOAL):
"Many of them are embarrassed to talk to me! A little while ago, I was going up to my room and I saw the new boy, 17 years old, Quenda. I went to him and said: 'So, have you recovered from the game?'. I saw that he was embarrassed."
Ronaldo, who made his Portugal debut in August 2003, continued:
"I don't say I'm a father, but an older brother. It could be a father to some and, as I said before, I've been through the same thing as them and the national team is a family. We're focusing on the Nations League, which is a fun competition and one that Portugal wants to win."
Quenda, who rose through Sporting's youth ranks, has scored one goal and laid out one assist in five overall games for his boyhood club.
Meanwhile, Portugal are set to face Croatia in their UEFA Nations League Group A clash against Croatia in Lisbon on Thursday (September 5). They will take on Scotland in Lisbon on Sunday (September 8).
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo appears to aim dig at former club and their manager
Earlier in 2022, Cristiano Ronaldo was involved in a controversy after publicly criticizing Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag. The 39-year-old attacker had his Red Devils contract terminated weeks after his interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan.
During a recent interview with Portuguese outlet A Bola, the Al-Nassr superstar was queried if he is prepared to play for Portugal as a substitute. He responded (h/t GOAL):
"In my mind, I'll always be a starter. That's what you think. Until the end of my career, I'll always think that I'll be a starter. I'll always respect the decisions, not just of the coach, but at the clubs I've played for, I've always respected them... once or twice, they've also behaved badly towards me [laughs]. But seriously, whenever there's professional ethics, I'll always respect the coaches' decisions."
The Real Madrid legend has found the back of the net a staggering 130 times and provided 45 assists in 212 matches for Portugal so far.