Miguel Albuquerque, president of the regional government of Madeira, the islands from which "Don" hails, has thrown his weight behind Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portugal captain left the team's camp in Copenhagen yesterday, Wednesday.
Speaking on the sidelines of a public service event in the municipality of Câmara de Lobos, the official came out firmly in Ronaldo's corner, branding the player a victim of "pettiness and empty talk", as reported by the Portuguese newspaper "A Bola".
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"Here in Madeira we support Ronaldo," said the president of the regional government, hailing the global mark the Portuguese has left.
"He is the most famous Portuguese in the world," he added. "Ronaldo is a player who promoted Portugal and raised its standing, throughout a career spanning more than 25 years. That is to say, he is among the Portuguese who have most honoured Portugal. Throughout these years he was the best player in the world, won everything that could be won, and made an enormous contribution to the Portugal national team."
"Empty talk"
On Ronaldo's early departure from the national team camp in Denmark, Albuquerque did not hold back. He took aim at those he believed had pushed the player into walking away.
"They must have upset him, and he did well indeed," he said in defence of the forward, adding that "no one has the patience" to deal with "this pettiness and this empty talk aimed at belittling his achievement, and his very essence".
Albuquerque conceded the striker "is not always right". Even so, he insisted Ronaldo's legacy would stand firm with the passage of time, far from the noise of the present moment.
"What matters at this moment is that Ronaldo preserves what he has always been," the president of the regional government of Madeira continued. "A first-class player, and a Portuguese who represented the name of the country and presented the country abroad in a way no one else has done."
"In 30 years no one will know who the coach was, no one will know who was at the head of the Portugal national team, and no one will know who was commentating on football," he went on. "But everyone, after 30, 40 and 50 years, will know who Ronaldo is. This is the difference between greatness and mediocrity."
"Don" left the national team camp after a disagreement with his coach Jorge Jesus, who declined to field him in the last match against Norway and stated he would not play him today, Thursday, against Denmark, in the UEFA Nations League.