Former Portugal boss Luiz Felipe Scolari has revealed how Cristiano Ronaldo reacted to his father’s death.
Scolari was Portugal’s manager in 2003 when Ronaldo made his senior debut for the Selecao.
He was in charge of the team for five years before leaving in 2008 to join Chelsea.
The Brazilian gaffer said he had to tell Ronaldo about his father’s death in 2005, adding that the forward opted to play despite the situation.
“When the news got to us, before a game against Russia, nobody knew how to tell him, and nobody wanted to.
“So I told them I would do it as I knew how it was to lose a parent. I had lost mine a few years before,” he said.
“The next day, Cristiano played a marvellous game and returned to Portugal. He asked to play. He said: ‘I can’t do anything for my father today, so I’ll play tomorrow and then I’ll go.’”