Wes Brown has leapt to the defence of Cristiano Ronaldo, insisting that his visible frustration at Euro 2024 was towards himself - not his team-mates or manager.
The former Manchester United defender observed Ronaldo's reaction to being substituted in the 66th minute of the 2-0 loss to Georgia on Wednesday, noting that the Al-Nassr forward's annoyance was due to his own high standards. Ronaldo, who had been booked for dissent earlier in the match, was replaced by Goncalo Ramos and appeared visibly upset with his performance.
Discussing the incident on Reach's new podcast Euro Thrash, which is available on YouTube, Apple, and Spotify, host Nubaid Haroon pointed out Ronaldo's rage to Brown, saying: "Your mate Cristiano was playing, and he was raging. What was happening with him?"
Brown responded confidently, explaining Ronaldo's mindset: "That's normal. He's come off, he wants to score. I've said this in previous ones. His attitude's so good. People might think he's snapping at other people but he's not.
"He's just wounded he's not scored before he's come off. He probably knew he was coming off after a certain amount of time by the way, and he'll just be disappointed he's not contributed or got an assist or a goal," reports the Manchester Evening News.
Ronaldo's participation in every group-stage game has sparked some controversy, especially as the 39-year-old has been chosen over younger talents and hasn't been rested. With only one assist to his name in the first three matches, Ronaldo's performance at the tournament has been underwhelming.
Despite a less than stellar performance against Georgia in their final group stage match, where they failed to respond to goals from Kvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georges Mikautadze, Portugal still managed to top Group F thanks to a 2-1 victory over Czechia and a 3-0 drubbing of Turkey. They're set to face Slovenia in the round of 16 on Monday - a team that finished third in Group C and boasts top talents like Jan Oblak and Benjamin Sesko.
If they manage to overcome Slovenia, Roberto Martinez's squad will then take on the victor of the France vs Belgium match in the quarter-finals. The winner of this game will then go head-to-head with either Spain, Georgia, Germany or Denmark in the semi-finals.
Haroon and Brown were joined by former Manchester United and England masseur Rod Thornley on the latest episode of the Euro Thrash podcast. Thornley shared his thoughts on England's performance at the summer tournament, his relationships with the players, and even his encounters with the late Queen Elizabeth II and Tony Blair.
Watch and listen to Euro Thrash on YouTube , Apple Podcasts and Spotify with regular new episodes throughout Euro 2024
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