Cristiano Ronaldo has made clear that he will not be returning to Real Madrid early this week, despite being unavailable for Portugal on Tuesday.
Friday saw the forward picked up a third yellow card for his national team during this World Cup qualifying campaign, ruling him out of this coming week’s Group F trip to Azerbaijan.
“It would be easier to flee by plane and return to my club, but I like it here and I think I can contribute well without playing,” 28-year-old Ronaldo reflected to reporters.
“I like them to know that I am with them in body and soul. On Tuesday, off the field, I will be there cheering for my teammates to have a good game, we can win.
“Every time we face more pressure. We cannot make a mistake or lose any more games. Our margin of error is zero, and so we have to go with the ambition of having to win.”
The Portuguese are third in Group F, behind first place Russia and second place Israel, who they drew with 3-3 on Friday.
