The argument is heating up. The Portuguese star is in favor of Neves. Ronaldo is ready to help like any other player.

Cristiano Ronaldo remains at the center of all talk of Portugal’s 2026 World Cup squad following Brazil’s poor start in Europe.

Ronaldo’s disappointing performance in Portugal’s opening game against the Democratic Republic of Congo (1-1) was exacerbated by comments from his team-mate Joao Neves in the mixed zone after the game, where he insisted he was just a team player and should not be treated differently.

These announcements caused a great uproar in the Portuguese camp. This prompted Ronaldo to post a photo of himself with a number of Portugal players last Friday nightaccompanied by the phrase “Always United”, which many saw as an implicit response to the controversy that arose following Neves’ statements regarding Saudi star Al-Nasr’s inclusion in the national team.

But the surprise came after Juventus and Portugal winger Francisco Conceicao repeated the same remarks as Neves ahead of next Tuesday night’s second-round group stage match against Uzbekistan.

“I think when it comes to scoring goals, there is no one like Cristiano. We don’t feel the need or obligation to pass the ball to him, rather, I pass it to whoever is in the best position. He’s here to help like any other player.”

He added, according to the newspaper Mundo Deportivo“He is a role model because of his history and the thirst to win that he shows every day. He’s extremely motivated to train like it’s his last day.”

He continued. “If he has achieved all these achievements and still has this enthusiasm, then our enthusiasm should be even greater.”

But in the end he insisted. “He’s just another individual here to help. we need all of them to make the team work effectively.”