Ruben Neves, a teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo's from Portugal, believes his captain is in "amazing" shape as the squad gets ready for its World Cup opener against Ghana on Thursday.
One of the team's leaders, Wolves midfielder Neves, refuted rumors that Ronaldo, 37, was not performing at his best by remarking that the player appeared to be himself in practice.
Neves said during a press conference in the tournament's home nation of Qatar on Sunday, "From what I've seen in training, he's in phenomenal shape." He doesn't scare us at all since, as a team, we are very aware of the things that need to be improved in order for everyone to shine on game day.
Neves added that there had been no distractions in the Portugal locker room as a result of Cristiano Ronaldo's sensational TV appearance, in which the Manchester United forward claimed he had been betrayed by the team and was being forced out. He said that the national team was unrelated to the uproar.
"Sure, it's impossible for us to go anywhere without being questioned about the controversy, but I don't think there's any controversy between us in the changing room at all. "This place has an amazing environment." Neves continued.
Due to a stomach issue, Ronaldo missed the friendly match against Nigeria on Thursday in Lisbon, but he trained normally on Saturday, grinning and joking with his teammates.
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