Almancil [Portugal], September 12 : Portugal midfielder Danilo Pereira defended the absent ace striker Cristiano Ronaldo in their record-setting 9-0 victory against Luxembourg at the Estadio Algarve.
Ronaldo ended up picking a yellow card in Portugal's 1-0 victory over Slovakia on Friday, which resulted in his suspension.
The former Real Madrid player was a bit lucky as he could have potentially seen another colour of the card. He caught goalkeeper Martin Dubravka in the face and referee Glenn Nyberg decided to show him a yellow instead of red.
Even with the absence of their star goalscorer, Portugal looked well prepared for a life without Ronaldo.
Goncalo Ramos led the line and stole the limelight with his exceptional attacking skills. He bagged a brace as Portugal recorded their biggest win surpassing their previous record of three 8-0 successes.
After the game, many critics started to question if Ronaldo's presence could have prevented Portugal from creating history.
Pereira came forward to defend the veteran forward, who continues to walk in the twilight of his career.
"If Cristiano Ronaldo was here, the result would also be like this. He would help with goals and assists. It wasn't because of his absence that this game was won by eight or nine goals," Pereira said after the game as quoted from Goal.com.
Ronaldo joined the Saudi Pro League (SPL) at the beginning of 2023 and ended up setting a trend throughout Europe.
A number of high-profile European players have followed Ronaldo's lead and signed for SPL clubs. Karim Benzema, Marcelo Brozovic, N'Golo Kante and Roberto Firmino have all signed deals to play in Saudi. Former Inter Milan player and World Cup finalist Marcelo Brozovic also shared the field with Ronaldo.
Last month, Senegal forward Sadio Mane left Bayern Munich to join Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro League at Al-Nassr.
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