Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – Joao Mario, midfielder for Benfica and the Portugal national team, revealed the fact that there is a dispute between Cristiano Ronaldo and his fellow Manchester United club, Bruno Fernandes.
Social media activists circulated a video widely, showing the “cold” handshake between Ronaldo and Fernandez, during their meeting in the Portugal national team’s dressing room.
Activists claimed that Fernandes warmly ignored Cristiano’s handshake, following the latter attacked the management of the “Red Devils” and Dutch coach Eric Ten Hag, in an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan, through the newspaper “The Sun”.
Joao Mario denied the existence of a dispute between them, as he said during the press conference on Portugal’s preparations for the World Cup in Qatar: “It was a joke between them, because Bruno was the last to arrive (to the Portuguese camp), and he asked Cristiano if he had come by boat. It was a joke between them, they were playing together.” .
Fernandez had stumbled upon joining the national team at the right time, which made him arrive late to the Portugal national team camp, in preparation for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Ronaldo and Fernandez are among the most prominent players in the Portuguese national team, and the fans are counting on them to lead the team to the World Cup title in its twenty-second edition.
Portugal is in Group H, along with Uruguay, Ghana and South Korea.