'People in Portugal need to appreciate that Ronaldo is the best player in the world' - Joao Pereira

Nov 2, 2012 4:00:00 PM

The young centre-back believes his compatriot is unfairly compared with Luis Figo and the 'Golden Generation', and thinks the los Blancos attacker deserves more recognition

Portugal Under-21 defender Joao Pereira believes that Cristiano Ronaldo is under-appreciated in his homeland, and rejected claims that the Real Madrid star fails to perform for the Seleccao.

Paulo Bento's side have started their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign in poor form, having dropped points to both Russia and Northern Ireland.

However, the young centre-back believes that too much is expected of the former Manchester United man when he represents his country.

"I think what Ronaldo and Messi are doing at the moment is incredible. At the end of every season, people keep saying '[Lionel] Messi won't be able to do that again' or 'Ronaldo won't be able to score more goals again', but every season they improve. It is incredible," Pereira said in a phone interview.

"I think people [in Portugal] need to appreciate that we have the best player in the world at the moment, along with Messi."

"It is natural that Ronaldo normally plays better for Real Madrid. He is there all month with the same players learning routines. He then meets up with Portugal for only one week and it is natural he doesn't always play the same [as at club level]."

Pereira also believes the Seleccao deserve more credit after their impressive showing at Euro 2012, which saw them reach the semi-final stage before being eliminated.

"If you look at Portugal's team now, we have a lot of quality - Ronaldo, Nani, [Joao] Moutinho and young players like Nelson [Oliveira].

"We were the only team in 2012 to cause Spain real problems and we had a good tournament. You look at the final: Italy lost 4-0 and they came nowhere close [to winning].

"We need to stop talking about the 'Golden Generation' of Luis Figo and Rui Costa all the time."

Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200
Sign up to Paddy Power for £250 in free bets
Sign up today with Coral and get a £50 FREE bet - no strings attached!
Sign up today with BetVictor and get a £25 FREE BET!

play

open

Inside Goal.Com

Player Ratings: Siena 1-2 AC Milan
Goal was on hand to judge all the players as Allegri's men finished third in Serie A and secured a Champions League berth next season
Player Ratings: Barcelona 2-1 Valladolid
Goal rates the players on show as the newly-crowned Liga champions cruised past the challenge of Miroslav Djukic's men to keep up hopes of reaching 100 points
Arsenal hold their nerve in top-four battle
Arsene Wenger's side produced a clinical performance to secure a top-four Premier League finish but now they must kick on if they wish to challenge for honours next year
Player Ratings: Newcastle 0-1 Arsenal
Laurent Koscielny's 52nd-minute volley secured the Gunners the win over Alan Pardew's side and made sure they would be playing Champions League football next season
Player Ratings: West Brom 5-5 Man Utd
Sir Alex Ferguson was given a farewell to remember, but certainly not for the right reasons as the Romelu Lukaku-led hosts battled back from three goals down to earn an unlikely point