Ronaldo watches on as Bruno Fernandes steals spotlight again amid Man Utd saga

Bruno Fernandes stole the show by bagging a brace in Portugal's final warm-up match ahead of the World Cup - but Cristiano Ronaldo was forced to watch his Manchester United teammate from the sidelines due to illness.

It was revealed on Wednesday night that Ronaldo was forced to sit out one of Portugal's final training sessions before the World Cup due to a stomach bug; and that same issue was enough to rule the 37-year-old out of Thursday night's friendly match against Nigeria.

But in Ronaldo's absence, Fernandes stepped up to pinch the limelight in a week that has been dominated by the former's explosive interview with Piers Morgan.

Fernandes fired Portugal into a ninth minute lead against Nigeria before doubling their advantage from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time. Goncalo Ramos and Joao Mario netted after the break as Fernando Santos' side romped to a comprehensive 4-0 win.

Fernandes stand-out performance comes just days after an awkward interaction with Ronaldo went viral shortly after the first clips of Ronaldo's damning interview were released.

Mario insisted ahead of the match that the frosty exchange was a joke and downplayed any talk of a rift between the duo - a stance that Fernandes himself confirmed in a social media post just hours later.

Although Fernandes appears to be on good terms with Ronaldo ahead of their World Cup campaign, it is believed that several other of Ronaldo's Manchester United team-mates are far from happy in the wake of his remarkable interview with Morgan.

Join the debate! Where do you think Ronaldo will end up next if he leaves Man Utd? Let us know here.

Mirror Football understands that United players do not want the former Juventus man to return to the club after the tournament following his brutal comments criticising Erik ten Hag, the club's facilities, the Glazer family and a number of high-profile former players including Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney.

Ronaldo failed to engineer a move away from Old Trafford in the summer but admitted during his conversation with Morgan that he was uncertain whether or not he would see out the final six months of the two-year deal he penned last summer.

Speaking about his future on Thursday night, he said: "It's difficult to tell right now, it's because, we, my mood is right now to The World Cup. It's probably my last World Cup, of course, my fifth World Cup.

"I don't know what's gonna happen after the World Cup, but as I told you before, and I will say again, the fans will be always in my heart. And I hope they been in my side, even if I back, or if I'm not back, or if I stay or whatever. Nobody's perfect.

"Episodes in the life we all have is part of the human beings, is part of me to be a human being and father as well. I always will commit mistakes. But I don't know, it's hard to tell right now what's going to happen to World Cup because my focus is for the World Cup, for the Portugal national team."

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