Following Cristiano Ronaldo’s emotional outburst following Portugal’s shocking World Cup quarterfinal loss to Morocco on Saturday, Pepe says his colleague is “fine.”
After Ronaldo’s irate response to being substituted against South Korea in the final group game, Fernando Santos, the head coach, decided to leave him out of the starting lineup for the second straight game.
After a towering header from Youssef En-Nesyri gave Morocco the lead, Portugal was eliminated from the tournament despite Ronaldo’s introduction shortly after the break.
Ronaldo experienced a difficult reaction to the defeat, crying as he left the field. On Sunday, he posted on social media that he had given up on Portugal’s “most ambitious dream” of winning the World Cup.
Although Ronaldo postponed making a decision regarding his future with the national team, Pepe believes the striker deserves recognition for his accomplishments while wearing the Portugal jersey.
“Ronaldo is fine,” Pepe told reporters after arriving back in Lisbon. “He’s our Portuguese flag. He reaches all parts of the world.
“He gave us his contribution when he was called. We have to thank him and all his team-mates who did their best to be available for the coach.”
Despite Portugal head coach Fernando Santos’ contract running until 2024, it is rumoured he may step down after this World Cup disappointment.
Asked about Santos’ future, Pepe explained: “I’m a player, I don’t have to talk about it. I’m not going to go down that path.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t achieve the goal we wanted. We tried to give everything to honour our country.
“It’s football. There are these things. We have to learn from what happened so that the future is better for us.”
Portugal’s next match is against Liechtenstein in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier on March 23.