“When things don’t go your way, he will express his feelings” - Ex-Portugal defender Jose Fonte opens up on Cristiano Ronaldo’s leadership style

Former Portugal defender Jose Fonte has opened up about Cristiano Ronaldo after A Selecao's UEFA Euro 2024 elimination on Friday, July 5. He praised the legendary forward's leadership and referenced his hat-trick against Spain to highlight his importance.

Portugal lost against France in the penalty shootout in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg on Friday. After a dull goalless draw in regulation and extra time, Joao Felix hit his penalty against the post to give Les Bleus the win.

This marked the end for Cristiano Ronaldo at the European Championships after his appearance in a record sixth edition. Jose Fonte assessed the game with Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand on the latter's YouTube channel. Fonte said about the 39-year-old's leadership:

“I have only good things to say [about his leadership]. He’s vocal, sometimes when things don’t go your way [as a team], he will express his feelings. But what I remember the most is that with him, you know he’s going to do something. He doesn’t really need to speak much. We know that when he’s on the pitch, we just have to keep the clean sheet and he’ll do the rest."

Fonte reminisced about Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick against Spain at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which earned Portugal a 3-3 draw, saying:

“I remember a game against Spain. We were losing in the World Cup and he scored three goals. He basically got us that draw by himself. We were really poor and he just said, ‘don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of it.

“He scored those the three goals like it’s easy. There’s many more moments like that one for sure. He’s a guy, who for every Portuguese player or person, who you respect the most.”

Fonte, who is currently a free agent, shared the pitch 40 times with the Portuguese legend, combining for two goals.

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Cristiano Ronaldo's run at Euros ends in disappointing fashion

The UEFA Euro 2024 saw Cristiano Ronaldo become the first player to participate in six editions of the European Championships. While he failed to score, he still holds the record for most goals (14) and appearances at the tournament (30). He also equaled the record for most assists (8) with Karol Poborsky after making an assist in their 3-0 win over Turkiye.

However, overall, Euro 2024 ended in a disappointing fashion for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner. Portugal narrowly beat Czechia 2-1 in their first game before comfortably beating Turkiye 3-0 to secure their position at the top of Group F. They then shockingly lost 2-0 against Georgia in their final group game.

In the Round of 16, A Selecao went past Slovenia in the penalty shootout. Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty in extra time but made up for it in the shootout. Diogo Costa made a record three consecutive saves to help Portugal qualify.

However, they eventually fell short in the quarter-finals against France, who will face Spain in the semi-finals on July 9.