Cristiano Ronaldo has told France Football how Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann joked of his “hate” toward the Real Madrid forward when they met shortly after Portugal beat France in the final of Euro 2016.
After leading his team to last summer’s final, Ronaldo played just 25 minutes against the hosts at the Stade de France before limping off with a knee injury.
The 31-year-old then watched from the dugout as his nation triumphed 1-0 courtesy of Eder’s extra-time winner, allowing a jubilant Ronaldo to lift the Henri Delauney trophy while Griezmann, 25, and his teammates were left devastated.
“It’s funny, because shortly after the final, while on holiday in Miami, I bumped into Antoine Griezmann in a restaurant where he was dining with his fiancee,” Ronaldo said. “He came to see me at my table and told me, with a cheeky smile, ‘Cristiano, I hate you!'”
Portugal not only upset Griezmann and the host nation in becoming European champions, they also upset the odds.
France were favourites to triumph having trounced Iceland 5-2 in the last eight and seen off world champions Germany in the semifinals, especially as Portugal had been unconvincing en route to the final.
According to Ronaldo, Didier Deschamps’ men were too confident ahead of the game, and the Portugal captain used that as an added source of motivation to claim their first ever major international trophy.
“I was convinced that calmness was the key to everything,” he said. “We knew we had a big advantage: we weren’t the favourites! The French thought they were going to win easily. In any case, that’s the impression we had. When we started warming up on the pitch, I felt the French were a little too relaxed.
“I looked at them, they were smiling a lot. Of course you can smile before a game, but they all seemed very happy. Their body language betrayed a certain assurance. I got that feeling and I used it, as captain, to motivate my team-mates.”
Ronaldo had been expected to star in the showpiece occasion in Saint-Denis, but a rough challenge from Dimitri Payet cut short his contribution.
“I went back to the dressing room so the national team doctor could give me a diagnosis quickly,” Ronaldo added. “I was in a bad way, I was crying, because I thought it was more serious. The doctor quickly reassured me, but I continued crying.”
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