Cristiano Ronaldo has previously sat down with Piers Morgan for a series of explosive interviews
Former England captain John Terry has jokingly labelled Cristiano Ronaldo a liar after he paid Piers Morgan a compliment. The Chelsea icon took aim in a tongue-in-cheek jibe at the 41-year-old after he complimented the presenter’s abs.
Ronaldo has endured a topsy-turvy World Cup so far and Morgan rushed to his defence after the Real Madrid and Manchester United icon faced criticism. The 61-year-old broadcaster waxed lyrical about the conduct of the Portuguese legend, while repeatedly highlighting the Saudi Pro League champions’ physique.
After a measly 25 touches in the shock draw with DR Congo, Ronaldo faced criticism over his performance and saw question marks over his role within Roberto Martinez’s side. Joao Neves’ sixth-minute header was cancelled out by Newcastle United striker Yoane Wissa’s effort on the stroke of half-time, and in reply, the 41-year-old mustered just three shots, none of which tested 31-year-old Le Havre goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi-Nzau.
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Morgan talked up Ronaldo’s stature and described him as a ‘role model’. He said on Sport Uncensored: “I think he’s an unbelievable role model because he shows you age is a number, he’s 41 and he’s got the body of a 30-year-old.
“He conducts himself impeccably. He looks great for 41, he looks better than you do [Simon Jordan]. If you look at my X feed, my pinned tweet is a clip from Ronaldo looking me and saying, ‘yeah you have good abdominals’.”
Terry hit-back with a ruthless dig at Morgan with Ronaldo being caught in the crossfire, he said: “He’s a top player and a f******* liar as well.”
Ronaldo silenced the doubters with a well-taken double on Tuesday as Portugal took an immense stride towards the World Cup knockouts. The 41-year-old was a key influence for Martinez’s side as he opened the scoring before adding a second before the break and unlocked his teammates in a resounding 5-0 win.
The forward saw his name fade, albeit momentarily, into the background as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland stole the show in a relentless start to their respective tournaments.
“I can tell you it was a very tough week, a difficult week, a week in which public opinion was very harsh on us, all the players, especially the coach,” he said.
“Whenever things go well, ‘Cristiano is good’; when things go badly, ‘he’s retired, he’s old’. It will always be like that. But it was a good response for me and my team-mates.”
The 41-year-old Al Nassr forward added: “I always get there. Maybe late, but I’m there. That’s why I continue to go to my job, I believe strongly in what I do, I believe strongly that I’m working hard, God helps.
“My career has always been like this, and I’m very happy. Everything else that comes from outside, we can’t control it. Because when we don’t play well, we don’t win, we are always attacked, especially me, but I’m used to it, and I keep going.”
