Ronaldo represented Portugal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and was the second highest scorer in FIFA World Cup qualification in the European zone with 7 goals. As of 17 June 2005, he has scored 11 goals in 25 appearances for his country.
Ronaldo scored his first World Cup goal against Iran with a penalty kick.
In the Round of 16, he left Portugal's 1-0 win over Netherlands injured after a high tackle by Khalid Boulahrouz.
World Cup Incident
On 8 July 2006, after the sending off of United team-mate Wayne Rooney, and after much speculation in the English media that he had influenced Rooney's red card, Ronaldo told reporters that he thought he "should get out of Manchester as the circumstances are not right to keep playing there."
"I have told my agent I am prepared to leave. I want to do it in the best manner possible. I want to play for Real Madrid and dream of doing so," Ronaldo allegedly told the Spanish sports daily Marca.
On 9 July, he also said for SIC, a Portuguese television channel, he cannot understand all verbal violence and pejorative speculation about him. Ronaldo declared he did not behave wrongly when Portugal defeated England and so cannot be blamed for defending his home country colours. He added that he cannot live and work in a place where people do not like him, so he would be glad to move out of England.
Several news sources considered that Cristiano Ronaldo's departure from Manchester United was imminent, however, Ronaldo chose to remain at United. His decision may have been influenced by Sir Alex Ferguson, who sent assistant boss Carlos Queiroz to Portugal hoping to change the young player's mind, and teammate Wayne Rooney also pleaded with Ronaldo not to leave the team and to let their differences rest.
On July 12, United released a statement saying "The club can confirm there is no possibility of Cristiano being sold. Cristiano recently signed a new contract until 2010 and the club fully expects him to honour that contract. The club will not listen to any offers for Cristiano," and on July 17, Sir Alex Ferguson said, "Cristiano will be coming back," while Chelsea manager José Mourinho said, "If he stays in England, I think he can turn things around." Cristiano Ronaldo returned to United after all potential problems were cleared.
Nevertheless, Ronaldo remained popular with the majority of Manchester United fans when he played (and scored) in his first Premiership match since the 2006 World Cup. Manchester United fans could clearly be heard chanting "there's only one Ronaldo" at various points in the game, in a 5-1 win over Fulham F.C.
Since then, a BBC report stated that Ronaldo has said he no longer wished to leave Manchester United, and is happy to remain at the club. He continued his fine world cup form in to the start of the season, netting 5 goals in just 15 premiership games, including a fine free-kick against Portsmouth FC Old Trafford in front of 76,004 people. Ronaldo said, "I complained to the referee about the foul but I didn't ask for a red card". After the match he admitted reports that Real Madrid were interested in him were correct, and was now more likely to go to the Spanish club or elsewhere over the summer transfer period.
After England's elimination Ronaldo was attacked by the English tabloids. The Sun made a dart board with a picture of his wink in a similar fashion to the one made after the 1998 World Cup for David Beckham by The Daily Mirror, another English tabloid.
Ronaldo has said that Rooney was a friend, and that he was not trying to get Rooney a red card. Rooney said, "I bear no ill feeling to Cristiano but am disappointed that he chose to get involved."
Wayne Rooney was investigated by FIFA's disciplinary committee after being sent off during England's World Cup quarter-final defeat against Portugal, banned for two competitive matches and fined 5 000 Swiss francs (2 207 pounds).
Ronaldo said, "I complained to the referee about the foul but I didn't ask for a red card". After the match he admitted reports that Real Madrid were interested in him were correct, and was now more likely to go to the Spanish club or elsewhere over the summer transfer period.
On July 5, in the semi-final against France, which Portugal lost 1-0, Ronaldo was loudly booed each time he had possession of the ball, by French and English fans alike. At the end of the match, he broke down in tears for his loss, like he had done on many other occasions. Though generally considered the best player on the pitch during the match, several reports accused Ronaldo (and other members of his side) of trying to influence the referee by diving. There have been similar accusations in the past, and Ronaldo has been booked for the offence more than once in the English Premiership. Shortly after he dropped back to second place in the online voting for Best Young Player, it was reported by BBC Sport that this was partly because of an email campaign by an England supporter urging people to vote for Luis Valencia, who was the second place player to prevent Ronaldo from winning the award. Though the online vote only affected the nomination process, FIFA Technical Study Group awarded the honours to Germany's Lukas Podolski, citing Ronaldo's behaviour as a factor. |
