The Manchester United forward sat down for a 90-minute interview on TalkTV which aired over Wednesday and Thursday last week in which he slammed the club’s hierarchy, accused them of ‘betrayal’ and said he would ‘never respect’ manager Erik ten Hag.
United are believed to be considering tearing up Ronaldo’s contract as a result and released a brief statement on Friday saying they had ‘initiated appropriate steps’ to deal with the matter.
The interview has overshadowed Portugal’s preparations for the World Cup, with Ronaldo’s team-mates and manager besieged with questions about their skipper.
Now the 37-year-old has held an impromptu press conference at Portugal’s training ground in Qatar in an effort to quell the storm he has created, defending his interview with Morgan and rubbishing suggestions of any unrest in the camp.
‘Timing is always timing. From you side it is easy to look at how we can choose timings,’ said the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
‘Sometimes you write truths, sometimes you write lies. I don’t have to worry about what others think. I talk when I want to. Everybody knows who I am and what I believe in.’
He continued: ‘Please, don’t ask the players about me. Ask about the World Cup. I’m bulletproof and iron clad.’
The former Real Madrid and Juventus star was also asked about a clip that went viral last week of him reuniting with United team-mate Bruno Fernandes for the first time after clips from the interview had started to circulate, in which the pair seemed to be rather frosty with one another.
But now Ronaldo has clarified that they were just ‘playing around’ and he had been giving his countryman stick for arriving late to the training camp.
‘His plane was late,’ explained Ronaldo when asked about what appeared to be an awkward exchange with Fernandes. ‘I asked him if he had come by boat.’
The likes of Bernando Silva and Ruben Neves had all fielded questions about Ronaldo following his interview, with the latter saying over the weekend: ‘He doesn’t worry us at all, we as a team know perfectly well what we need to work on so that each individual stands out on gameday.
‘If we’re good as a team, Cristiano will be phenomenal.’
He added: ‘It’s impossible for us to walk around without been asked about the controversy, but I don’t think there’s any controversy at all between us in the changing room. We have a spectacular environment right here.’
MORE : Real Madrid pass up chance to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United in January
MORE : Bernardo Silva opens up on relationship between Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes following bombshell interview
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