Bruno Fernandes tells Ronaldo he is WRONG

Tom Weber

• Updated: 28 Mar 2023 15:51 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes disagrees with Cristiano Ronaldo about the new direction Portugal is heading in.

Portugal dismissed head coach Fernando Santos after their quarter-final exit at the hands of Morocco at the 2022 World Cup, ending the 68-year-old's seven-year stint in charge of Cristiano Ronaldo and company.

The man hired to lead Portugal in a new direction was former Everton and Belgium boss Roberto Martinez, and the Spaniard has got off to a flying start in charge of A Seleção, albeit against lesser opposition.

READ: Who has Cristiano Ronaldo scored against this season?

With a combined score of 10 goals and zero conceded Portugal easily dispatched the tiny Central European nations Liechtenstein and Luxembourg in EURO 2024 qualifying. After a 4-0 win over the former, the latter was demolished 6-0 with Ronaldo scoring a brace in both games to increase his impressive international record to 122 goals.

What did Ronaldo and Fernandes say?

Unsurprisingly, the 38-year-old has hailed the impact of Martinez, saying on the eve of the Liechtenstein game: "It’s a new chapter for everyone, for the players, the staff and the country. We feel good energy. It’s a breath of fresh air."

His Portugal teammate and erstwhile Manchester United companion Bruno Fernandes, however, disagreed when asked if he concurred with Ronaldo's statement "No, it's just a new coach with new ideas," he told Portuguese TV channel RTP3. "There is no breath of fresh air at all," the 28-year-old continued. "It's just a transition period."

READ: The INCREDIBLE stat that shows why Bruno Fernandes is Man Utd's future

He then insisted that there has never been a problem in the Portugal camp: "The atmosphere in the national team has always been good. There's never been anything that wasn't fresh of the air, so I think it's just new dynamics, new coach, and you have to assimilate his ideas."

Ronaldo and Fernandes will meet again in June when group leaders Portugal continue their qualifying campaign against Iceland and Slovakia.