Bruno Fernandes appears LIVID with Cristiano Ronaldo when exchanging frosty hand-shake

Cristiano Ronaldo’s extremely high-profile falling out with Manchester United appears to have spilled over into the Portuguese national team with Bruno Fernandes offering him a much less friendly greeting than might be expected. 

The Portugal captain has grabbed all the headlines in the past day after an incendiary interview with Piers Morgan was drip fed to the public over Sunday and Monday evenings.  

In the interview, among other claims, Ronaldo said he did not ‘respect’ current United boss Erik ten Hag while also taking aim at the club’s facilities and their place in the football pecking order – claiming they had fallen below the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City. He also expressed a belief that he had been ‘betrayed’ by the club. 

A clip released on Monday evening saw Ronaldo claim that Gary Neville had used him to boost his own profile.

The Portugal captain wanted to greet his club and international team-mate however ahead of them jetting out to Qatar

Fernandes, United’s de-facto vice-captain, appeared to have taken issue with the interview as he greeted Ronaldo with some degree of frostiness after linking up with the national side on Monday.

In the clip, released on Portugal’s social media channels showing each of the 26 players arriving ahead of the World Cup which kicks off this week with Qatar-Ecuador on Sunday, Fernandes can be seen walking past Ronaldo. 

Fernandes put an arm on Ronaldo as he walked past him to put his bag down in the locker next to his before trying to turn away to face the rest of the dressing room.

Fernandes duly accepted Ronaldo’s offer of a handshake before saying something that left the recalcitrant forward looking mildly baffled 

Ronaldo very clearly offered out his hand first – which Fernandes, after a brief second of seemingly wondering whether he should accept it, meets with his own before saying something to him and turning away. 

The recalcitrant forward was left standing there appearing to wonder why he had just essentially been snubbed by his club and international team-mate.

Reacting to the clip on social media, most supporters appeared to take the side of Fernandes. 

Fernandes appeared to have taken umbrage with the star’s recent interview with Piers Morgan

‘You could see it on Ronaldo’s face. Bruno is a true team player/leader and he’s not going to let Ronaldo just take a dump on his club/manager/team-mates without giving him a piece of his mind,’ one noted. 

‘Another impending problem with Ronaldo’s interview is the situation he’s put both [Diogo] Dalot and Bruno in. Such an unnecessary and awkward situation,’ another wrote. 

Meanwhile another added: ‘Ronaldo seems to be genuinely bemused why Bruno Fernandes might be a bit frosty with him.’

After a – very – brief exchange, Fernandes turned to greet his other international team-mates

Giving Ronaldo one more look with a smirk etched across his face, Fernandes turned away

Another noted the dynamics of the exchange, writing: ‘Bruno wasn’t going to shake hands if Ronaldo didn’t reach out, and he clearly had his face down [throughout], which clearly means he wasn’t interested in shaking hands if Ronaldo didn’t reach out.’

One other said Fernandes’ actions only endeared them to him more. ‘Bruno has been winning me over this season. His performances have been class and this is even better,’ they wrote.

‘Bruno is all of us. What a guy!’ another wrote. 

‘Bruno hates him,’ another drily wrote. 

The support for Fernandes was not unanimous, however. ‘Bruno Fernandes airing Cristiano Ronaldo in the locker room won’t go unnoticed by me,’ one fan wrote. ‘I’m waiting at the airport for you, Bruno.’

It now remains to be seen whether the two players, neither of whom is shorn of an ego, can mend their relationship to ensure Portugal’s World Cup campaign begins swimmingly. 

Portugal begin their campaign against Ghana on November 24 before they face Uruguay, who knocked them out of the 2018 edition, on November 28. Their Group H campaign concludes with a fixture against South Korea on December 2.