🚨 Pepe on Cristiano Ronaldo: “I read Cristiano’s statement twice. The first time as his friend. The second time because apparently I had read a completely different statement from everybody else. I saw some saying, ‘Look at his ego.’ So I went back. Cristiano says, ‘I should not have left.’ He apologises to his teammates and Portugal. Then he says, ‘Punish me.’ Not only that. He basically says, ‘I’m the captain. That makes my responsibility greater.’ I stopped there. I thought, ‘This is the egomaniac everybody is talking about?’ I played with Cristiano for many years. When he thinks he is right, you will know. I used to tell him, ‘Cris, you don’t have to win every argument.’ ‘Why not?’ ‘Because sometimes you’re annoying.’ ‘But am I wrong?’ ‘That’s not helping your case.’ That is Cristiano. But there is something people misunderstand about him. He can accept a decision he hates. What he struggles to accept is feeling somebody wasn’t honest with him. Those are different things. He isn’t saying, ‘I must start because I am Cristiano Ronaldo.’ He is saying, ‘Tell me the truth.’ If his role has changed, tell him. If you no longer need him, look him in the eyes and say it. Cristiano literally says they could have told him they didn’t want him there and he would have accepted it. That doesn’t sound like somebody demanding Portugal belongs to him. It sounds like somebody asking Portugal not to lie to him. I remember once telling him, ‘One day this shirt will continue without us.’ He looked at me. ‘Of course.’ ‘You answered too quickly.’ He smiled. ‘Pepe, Portugal existed before us. But while I’m here, I want to win.’ That is the Cristiano I know. Everybody is talking about farewell matches. Cristiano is talking about competing. He doesn’t want Portugal to put flowers around him, give him seventy minutes, substitute him so the stadium can stand up and then send him home. He believes if he comes, he can still help Portugal win. And if Portugal believes otherwise? Tell him. That is the whole argument. People say leaving camp was wrong. Cristiano himself said leaving camp was wrong. He didn’t say, ‘I am Cristiano Ronaldo, therefore there should be no consequences.’ He said the opposite. ‘Punish me. I am captain. My responsibility is greater.’ You cannot demand accountability from somebody and then ignore it when he holds himself accountable because you preferred the version where he was simply the villain. There was another part that stayed with me. He spoke about learning his father had died while he was with Portugal and choosing to remain until the next match was finished. So when a man reaches into one of the most painful moments of his life to explain what representing Portugal means to him, maybe listen before telling him he doesn’t care about the national team. You can disagree with Cristiano. I have. You can tell him he handled something badly. I have done that too. But don’t rewrite twenty years because you’re angry about one week. If I were sitting beside him now, I’d probably say, ‘You created a beautiful mess, brother.’ ‘I told the truth.’ ‘I know.’ ‘So what is the problem?’ ‘You somehow need two thousand words to tell the truth.’ He’d probably tell me to shut up. Then I’d tell him the serious part. ‘You apologised. You accepted the consequences. Now stop explaining.’ Serve whatever punishment comes. Go back to Al Nassr. Train. Score goals. And if Portugal calls again, decide whether you still believe you can help them win. Because after everything Cristiano has given Portugal, I refuse to reduce his relationship with that shirt to one argument with one coach. He was there before Jorge Jesus. He will be part of Portugal’s history long after Jorge Jesus. And one day Cristiano will leave too. But when that day comes, let it be because the football is finished. Not because honesty was.”

🚨 Marcus Rashford on why he chose the No. 14 shirt: “When I came back, some assumed I’d be thinking about shirt numberz. Honestly… I wasn’t. I told the club, ‘Give me whatever number you want. I just want to play football again.’ Then Jesse called. He asked,,‘What number are you taking?’ I said, ‘I don’t know yet.’ He replied… ‘Bro… don’t tell me you’ve forgotten my shirt already.’ I asked, ‘Fourteen?’ He said, ‘Remember when we were kids? We always spoke about keeping United where it belongs. I couldn’t finish that story… maybe you still can.’ I just went quiet. Then he said one last thing. ‘If you boys win the league….. just turn around during the celebrations and let me see that No. 14 one more time.’ I smiled. From that moment, I didn’t need to think about another shirt number”