Manchester United did not miss an opportunity to congratulate Bruno Fernandes on his first World Cup goal – despite their former star player Cristiano Ronaldo incorrectly claiming it as his own.
Fernandes had delivered the cross into Uruguay’s area which Ronaldo leapt for and had appeared to direct into the net past opposition goalkeeper Sergio Rochet to open the scoring in Monday night’s match. Ronaldo’s reaction – in which he celebrated the goal passionately as if it was his own – had given weight to that suggestion.
However, replays subsequently showed that the delivery from Fernandes had gone directly into the net without any contact from Ronaldo, who became the first player to score in five different World Cups when he netted against Ghana in his nation’s opening World Cup game.
The Portuguese superstar ended his relationship with Manchester United by mutual consent last week, following his bombshell interview with Piers Morgan. He has switched fully to international mode and is aiming to break multiple different World Cup records.
Yet despite his claims that he had opened the scoring against Uruguay and official channels noting that he had scored the goal, that was later revised by FIFA to confirm that it was his former club teammate Fernandes who would be credited with the goal.
That led to United tweeting out their congratulatory message to Fernandes, who is joined in the Portugal squad for the tournament by club teammate Diogo Dalot. The message was sent moment after Ronaldo had been denied his second of the tournament by FIFA’s adjudication panel.
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Ronaldo’s participation at this World Cup had at times become a secondary aspect to his club future, with the confirmation of his Old Trafford exit coming just two days ahead of his nation’s opening win over Ghana.
There will continue to be an intense focus on Ronaldo’s future at club level, with Real Madrid ruling out a return for their club-record goalscorer. His mother's club Sporting Lisbon have also distanced themselves from making a move while Bayern Munich poured cold water on speculation.
Ronaldo’s wait for his second goal of the tournament went on as he was substituted off with ten minutes remaining of the clash against Uruguay. Portugal will conclude their group campaign with a clash against South Korea on Friday.
