Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed the details of the conversation he shared with Gareth Bale at the end of Portugal‘s clash with Wales on Wednesday evening, saying he congratulated his Real Madrid teammate on the Dragons’ efforts.
Ronaldo and his Portugal side bested Wales in the semi-finals of Euro 2016, booking their place in the final thanks to goals from the superstar himself and Nani.
The loss ended Wales’ sensational and unprecedented run in the competition, which included an excellent 3-1 win over Belgium in the quarter-finals.
The match on Wednesday had been billed as Ronaldo vs Bale, given their respective status as two of the world’s best players, but now Ronaldo has told of what he said to the Welshman after the match.
Speaking to post-match reporters, Ronaldo said: “I congratulated Bale – they were the shining star, the revelation of the tournament.”
The 31-year-old is delighted to have reached the final of the competition and admits his side endured a difficult start to the tournament. The match with Wales is the first time this summer Portugal have won a game in normal time.
But Ronaldo believes his side have got this far because of their willingness to fight and dismissed ideas that the national side was a one-man team, centred around himself.
Ronaldo added: “Of course we are a team. The national team are a unit. That’s how we’ve been acting since the start. I’ve tried to help out, not just by scoring goals but by fighting, scrapping.
“To get to the final you have to have all 23 players in the squad fighting. I’m very happy. I believed in my heart that we’d go far. Maybe it didn’t start as we wanted to but this is not a 100m race. This is a marathon.
“Portugal are not just about Cristiano Ronaldo, we are a team. But I was able to score today and I’ve helped the team get to the final by scoring a goal.”
Portugal will now play either hosts France or world champions Germany in the final on Sunday, and have a chance to claim their first ever piece of international silverware.
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