"The family is complete" - Portugal national team's X account makes post as Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Hilal star link up with squad
Portugal have welcomed Cristiano Ronaldo and Ruben Neves back to the national fold ahead of the friendlies with Croatia and Iceland. While Ronaldo plays for Al-Nassr, Neves plies his trade with Al-Hilal.
Both stars are coming off successful club seasons. Ronaldo scored 44 times in 45 competitive outings across competitions to help Al-Nassr to a second-placed finish in the Saudi Pro League, which Neves' Al-Hilal won by going unbeaten. The 27-year-old contributed seven goals and 12 assists in 48 games across competitions to help his side to three titles.
Following the completion of the club football season, Neves has joined his captain Ronaldo for Portugal duty. Roberto Martinez's side take on Croatia in a friendly on Saturday (June 8) before taking on Iceland three days later.
With the two stars' arrival, Portugal tweeted (as translated from Portuguese):
"The family is complete!"
Following the two friendlies, Ronaldo and Co. open their Euro 2024 campaign against the Czech Republic on June 18 in Leipzig. They next take on Turkey four days later in Dortmund before concluding their group-stage campaign against Georgia on June 26 in Gelsenkirchen.
How Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo fared against Al-Hilal last season
Cristiano Ronaldo has had a fabulous campaign with Al-Nassr, his first full campaign in Saudi Arabian football since joining the Mrsool Park outfit in December 2022 on a free transfer.
However, the 39-year-old struggled to make an impact against the runaway champions. After drawing a blank in a 3-0 league loss at Al-Hilal, he provided the assist in the 1-1 home draw with the champions.
Ronaldo drew blanks in the 2-1 Saudi Super Cup semifinal defeat at Al-Hilal - getting sent off - and in the 5-4 shootout defeat following a 1-1 draw after extra time in the King's Cup final.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner did score twice in a 2-1 extra-time win over Al-Hilal in the final of the Arab Club Champions Cup, a pre-season tournament, where he scored six times.