Bruno Fernandes Disagrees With Cristiano Ronaldo's Comment About Roberto Martinez Bringing "Breath Of Fresh Air" To Portugal Squad

Bruno Fernandes does not agree with Cristiano Ronaldo's assessment that Roberto Martinez's arrival has brought a "breath of fresh air" to the Portugal national team.

Martinez was appointed to replace former manager Fernando Santos after Portugal exited the 2022 World Cup in the quarter-finals.

Portugal have won convincingly in their first two games under Martinez, beating Liechtenstein 4-0 and Luxembourg 6-0 in Euro 2024 qualifiers.

Ronaldo, 38, has started in both of those games and scored four goals, after being benched by Santos for Portugal's final two matches at Qatar 2022.

Speaking after his first training session with Martinez last week, Ronaldo described the managerial change as a "breath of fresh air" for Portugal.

But Fernandes refused to echo that sentiment when asked about Ronaldo's comments following Portugal's win over Luxembourg.

Speaking to Portuguese TV channel RTP3, Fernandes said: "No, it's just a new coach with new ideas. There is no breath of fresh air at all.

"It's just a transition period. The atmosphere in the national team has always been good. There's never been anything that wasn't fresh about the air, so I think it's just new dynamics, new coach, and you have to assimilate his ideas."

Portugal will continue their Euro 2024 qualification bid in June.

Slovakia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Iceland are also in their group.

Bruno Fernandes (left) and Cristiano Ronaldo pictured warming up ahead of Portugal's game against Lichtenstein last week

IMAGO/HMB-Media/Joaquim Ferreira