"Ronaldo's tears were my inspiration"

Cristiano Ronaldo is, without a doubt, the symbol of the Portuguese national team. So much so that even his international teammates acknowledge that he means everything to them, both on and off the pitch.

In a chat with the official media outlets of his club Manchester United, Bruno Fernandes recounted how much motivation Ronaldo gave him without even knowing it.  “When Cristiano began to take his first steps in the national team, it was in the Euros in our home country [Euro 2004], so I was nine years old.

"That year stays with everyone because we lost the final in Portugal. We saw him crying after the final, he was a young boy who was starting to shine and from there I started to watch him", he revealed.

What impressed Bruno even more was his capacity to fight, "It wasn’t because he plays in my position because that wasn’t the case, but it was the way he worked every day, the mentality he had, the capacity he had to give 100 per cent in every game at a high level, for me it was like a motivation, like you always have to do better", he continued.

He noted that, as a player, you are allowed to drop off every once in a while: "Okay, you will have bad games for sure, everyone has – Cristiano has had bad games, 100 per cent – but the point is, coming back from a bad game".

"I’m improving a lot because of this, and that [Ronaldo's tears in the final] was my biggest motivation", Bruno Fernandes concluded.