Julius OkoriePortugal Captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, says it is goodbye to disrespect at home after he led Portugal to win the Nations League at the expense of Spain on Sunday.
The victory, the Al Nassr forward confessed, has won him more respect on the home front considering that his children are Spanish.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIn a lighthearted post-match moment, Cristiano Ronaldo, 40, revealed that his Spanish-born children often teased him at home, rooting for Spain just to get under his skin.
“My children are Spanish, and they joke with me at home and say, ‘The trophy is for Spain,’” Ronaldo said jokingly. “Now they saw their dad win against Spain, so they will show more respect.”
But the night wasn’t all jokes for the football icon. Ronaldo was visibly emotional after the final whistle and could be seen crying tears of joy as Portugal celebrated their penalty shoot-out triumph.
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“What a joy,” he told Sport TV. “First of all, for this generation, which deserved, a title of this magnitude, and for our families. My children came here, my wife, my brother, my friends. Winning for Portugal is always special.”
Despite decades of club success, Ronaldo emphasised that national glory hits differently.
“I have many titles with clubs, but nothing is better than winning for Portugal. It’s tears. It’s duty done and a lot of joy,” he said. “When you talk about Portugal it is always a special feeling. Being captain of this generation is a source of pride.”
In a revealing admission, Ronaldo also disclosed that he played the final with an injury—another testament to his unyielding commitment to the national team.
“I had already felt it [injury] in the warm-up; it had been coming for some time”, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner said.
“But, for the national team, if I had to break a leg, I’d leave. It is a title I had to play, and I gave my best; I went as far as I could. I helped with a goal.”
With his triumph on Sunday at the Allianz Arena, Ronaldo has now won three trophies for Portugal, namely UEFA European championship in 2016 and UEFA Nations League 2019 and 2025.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner is hoping to next win the World Cup, one trophy that is conspicuously missing in his closet but resting in the closet of his perennial arch rival, Lionel Messi, who led Argentina to victory at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Ronaldo is hoping that the dream of winning the World Cup can become a reality either at the next edition to be hosted by USA, Mexico and Canada next year or the centenary edition which Portugal will be co-hosting alongside Spain and Morocco.
Both forthcoming World Cups will feature 48 countries, the highest number of countries that will be participating at the FIFA World Cup since its inception in 1930.
Recall that Uruguay hosted and won the maiden edition beating Argentina 4-2 in the final.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
