Cristiano Ronaldo spotted for first time since controversial Man Utd interview

Manchester United rebel Cristiano Ronaldo has been pictured in training with the Portugal squad for the first time since his outspoken interview with Piers Morgan.

The veteran striker dropped a number of bombshells on Sunday evening having been at the heart of a scathing interview with Morgan. During the interview - set to air on Wednesday and Thursday - Ronaldo claimed that he was "betrayed" by the Red Devils and that he had no respect for current boss Erik ten Hag.

That has left many former players and United themselves reeling, with the Old Trafford club having released a statement on Ronaldo's comments since.

It read: "Manchester United notes the media coverage regarding an interview by Cristiano Ronaldo. The club will consider its response after the full facts have been established.

"Our focus remains on preparing for the second half of the season and continuing the momentum, belief and togetherness being built among the players, manager, staff, and fans."

Amid the fallout from Ronaldo's incendiary interview, the Portuguese striker has now been spotted in public for the first time as his preparations for the upcoming World Cup get underway. He was spotted linking up with the Portugal squad for their first training session ahead of the tournament.

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In a number of photographs, the 37-year-old is seen sharpening his shooting boots with a number of efforts, whilst he was also practicing his heading alongside the likes of Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix and Red Devils' teammate Diogo Dalot. It remains to be seen whether the relationship between the United pair is frosty considering Ronaldo's outspoken comments over recent days.

Whilst Ronaldo was seen hard at work, there were some interesting incidents. He found time to share a joke with former Real Madrid teammate Pepe with there also being a moment where the striker was left alone walking across the training pitch with his head bowed.

Ronaldo's recent indiscretion is likely to be an unwelcome distraction for the Portuguese and manager Fernando Santos as they aim for success in Qatar. The 2016 European champions have never mananaged to lift the World Cup with there being concerns that Ronaldo will not be able to replicate his previous success at the tournament considering his lack of game time at Old Trafford this season.

However, Santos has allayed those fears having assured that the Man Utd forward is as ready as ever. Speaking in a press conference last week, he said: "All the players I have summoned are part of the plan [which] I am going to outline. Cristiano is in this [group].

"In the last four games, he played. Right now he's playing. All the players I summoned come hungry to win and make Portugal world champion, Ronaldo included."

Ronaldo, a 191-time Portuguese international, has previously made 17 appearances at the World Cup in his career and has scored seven goals. That record includes a memorable hat-trick against Spain in the previous tournament in Russia.

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