Neville has since joked that he's "off the Christmas card list" – so when ITV presenter Laura Woods asked him if Ronaldo was still blanking him, Neville laughed and called Woods "cheeky".
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring a penalty for Portugal against Ghana to become the first player ever to net in five different World Cups (Image credit: Getty Images)
"He's not answered my calls, no – I don't think anyone is out here," he laughed. "Look, [Ronaldo's] responded to criticism, he's not liked what happened in Manchester, he feels as though people have turned on him. His homeland, now, Portugal absolutely adore him. We need Ronaldo, Messi and Mbappe, all the big stars coming to a head in this tournament because something's going to have to give at some point.
"I watched the Portugal game the other day, I thought first half, the balance of the team was poor where they had Bruno Fernandes on the right with Cristiano Ronaldo up front. That didn't work, we've seen that at United. When [Rafael] Leao came on, Joao Felix and Cristiano were playing [William] Carvalho in midfield and Cristiano moved inside [closer] to Bernardo Silva, they looked pretty good, Portugal. I think that's the way forward for them.
Gary Neville has criticised Cristiano Ronaldo in recent months (Image credit: beIN Sports)
"They're a good team, Portugal and they've got a man up front with a monster mentality. He'll believe that this is is their moment. He'll think he's winning this World cup, he'll be believe that and that will transmit to his team-mates.
"He's done that with the Champions League – when Barcelona were so great, he won three Champions Leagues there because he delivers in the big moments. Nothing would surprise me in this tournament from him, although I think it was right he left United and right that United let him go as well.
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Portugal take on Uruguay at 7pm.
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Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.
