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Cristiano Ronaldo posted a heartfelt message on Instagram after Portugal’s recent loss to Sweden during the World Cup qualifiers.
Ronaldo started both of Portugal’s recent world cup qualifiers against Ireland and Sweden. They drew 0-0 against Ireland with FC Porto defender Pepe receiving a red card in the 81st minute. Portugal then slumped to a 2-1 loss against Serbia despite Renato Sanches firing them ahead in the 2nd minute.
This loss meant Portugal will have to go through the playoffs to make their way into the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
In a heartfelt Instagram post, the five-time Ballon d’or winner thanked fans for their support over the two games. He promised to return to his national team soon. For now, however, Cristiano Ronaldo is focussed on getting back into action for Manchester United, and rightly so. In the caption, he wrote:
"No matter how far the world we travel, it is always in Portugal that my family and I feel at home. The fantastic climate, the wonderful food, the affection of the Portuguese people, it is always a pleasure to return to my country. It's time to go back to Manchester and focus completely on our goals, but we'll be back soon. See you now, Portugal!"
Cristiano Ronaldo is focused on Manchester United after world cup qualifiers
Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Manchester United this summer after spending 12 seasons away, with stints at Real Madrid and Juventus. The 2008 Ballon d’Or winner now has four more titles to his name and has won the Champions League four times for Madrid. However, the current season has been far from ideal for Cristiano Ronaldo, due to multiple reasons.
Manchester United have a better squad on paper than they did last season. Apart from the addition of Cristiano, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane were also brought in to help the team challenge for the Premier League this season.
However, after registering three victories in their first four Premier League games, it has all gone downhill for Manchester United. Ole Gunnar Solskjær has arguably never been under more pressure for his job, with embarrassing defeats to Manchester City and Liverpool fresh in fans’ memories.
Manchester United now find themselves nine points adrift of league leaders Chelsea already and need to improve on multiple fronts. The likes of Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire in particular have looked out of sorts. Meanwhile Solskjær has been criticized for his tendency to start Fred and Scott McTominay in midfield.
Problems lie in an unsettled attack as well. Marcus Rashford is only slowly returning to his best while Jadon Sancho is far from being a starter. In such a scenario, Cristiano Ronaldo’s crucial goals have kept Manchester United afloat in the Champions League.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær will be hoping for a change in fortunes after the international break, in the absence of which he might soon find himself unemployed.
