Cristiano Ronaldo Under Fire, But His Teammate Says the Lock Room Is ‘Unshakable’

Portugal hasn’t even gotten out of the group stage yet and already things are getting loud around Cristiano Ronaldo. After a frustrating 1-1 draw with DR Congo in their World Cup opener, the criticism came fast. Ronaldo missed multiple big chances, Thierry Henry called him out for being selfish on the ball, and a chunk of the internet decided it was time to ask whether the 41-year-old is still the guy to lead this team.

Diogo Dalot is not here for any of that noise.

Speaking to reporters ahead of Portugal’s must-win match against Uzbekistan, the Manchester United defender pushed back hard on the idea that Ronaldo is a problem or that the squad is cracking under the pressure. Dalot said the team actually saw this coming and had a conversation about it before they even left for the tournament.

“It was almost as if we’d anticipated that this would happen,” Dalot said. “Of course, when you have a squad like this especially with a player like Cristiano we have to be prepared, a little more than usual. The fact that we had that pre-World Cup conversation to prepare ourselves for these moments meant that when it actually happened, we were able to send the message that the group is unshakable.”

That word — unshakable — is doing a lot of work right now. Because outside the locker room, things feel far from calm.

The online mess complicating things

A small but loud fringe of Ronaldo’s fanbase has taken things way too far. They’ve targeted Bruno Fernandes and PSG midfielder Joao Neves online, accusing them of purposely not passing to Ronaldo or sabotaging his chances. It’s gotten ugly enough that Ronaldo’s own sister, Katia Aveiro, jumped into the discussion on social media and essentially backed the conspiracy theory that some Portugal players are trying to ice him out.

Portuguese journalist Vitor Pinto described the whole situation as dangerous, warning that it could spiral into a full civil war inside the squad if not handled carefully. He did push back on the sabotage talk, but admitted there are signs of friction behind the scenes.

Dalot, for his part, dismissed all of it.

“We knew we’d face difficulties and criticism,” he said. “Sometimes unfair, sometimes untrue, and often blown out of proportion.”

On Ronaldo specifically, Dalot pointed to two decades of experience.

“Everyone already knows how well Cristiano handles criticism. He has over 20 years of experience with the national team. I think what he conveys to the team, that confidence, those criticisms are just part of the game. The confidence he instills in us, and we in him, has always been the same and always will be. As long as he represents the national team, I think he’ll always have that ability.”

Portugal plays Uzbekistan on Tuesday in a Group K matchup that suddenly feels like it carries a lot more weight than expected. A win settles things down. Another slip-up and the noise around Ronaldo is only going to get louder.