Roy Keane has been one of the stars of this World Cup, but he won't want to read back over his Cristiano Ronaldo comments from the first week of the tournament.
Immediately after Ronaldo had departed Manchester United, Keane spoke about his former Manchester United teammate while working as a pundit for ITV. The Irishman praised Ronaldo and backed him to have a big World Cup and quiet down the 'idiots' who criticised him.
"He has to do his talking on the pitch," said Keane, "I hope he performs on the pitch and I believe he will. He can shut a few people up, all the idiots who have been criticising him.
READ MORE: Old video shows Roy Keane savaging England after World Cup exit
"I am lucky to have played with him and am glad to be watching him tonight."
And just a couple of days ago, Keane once again defended Ronaldo after Gary Neville said both Manchester United and Portugal played better without him. Even after Portugal's 6-1 win over Switzerland, the Corkman still praised his former United teammate.
"They (Portugal) had a good result,” Keane conceded, “United, what have United (done)? What happens is the team does well without Ronaldo it's: 'We're better off without him', I hate that rubbish.
"Are footballers supposed to be perfect? Cristiano Ronaldo had this attitude 10 years ago, but the following game he would score a hat trick, and he was 27 - everyone would forgive him.
"People say that he makes teams worse - Juventus haven’t done anything since he left them a couple of years ago."
To say Ronaldo has had a nightmare World Cup would be an understatement. While he scored against Ghana from the penalty spot, he was anonymous against Uruguay and was substituted early in the final group game with South Korea.
This substitution led a bust-up with manager Fernando Santos, and Ronaldo was dropped for the last 16 game with Switzerland. His replacement, Goncalo Ramos, bagged a hat-trick and Ronaldo was once again on the bench for the quarter-final with Morocco.
That game ended in defeat, as did Ronaldo's hopes of crowning his glittering career with World Cup glory.
Where the greatest goalscorer of all time goes next is anyone's guess. Rumours have run rampant that he is set for a big money move to Saudi Arabia, though nothing has been confirmed at this time.
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