Cristiano Ronaldo reacted angrily after being approached by a television reporter while out walking near Portugal’s hotel in Lyon – grabbing the microphone and throwing it into a lake.
The Portugal captain, facing mounting media pressure after his penalty miss against Austria and his outburst against Iceland’s “small mentality”, showed his frustration after being asked by the CMTV reporter if he was ready for their game against Hungary.
Portugal are without a win so far at Euro 2016, and have scored just once from 18 shots on target. They now have to beat Hungary to be sure of a place in the last 16.
After training on Tuesday, during which Ronaldo appeared in a bad mood, the coach Fernando Santos dismissed reporters’ queries about his state of mind.
“The day after the first game you said Cristiano was all smiles,” Santos said. “After the first match your stories were that Cristiano was all smiles and now it is that he’s not smiling. I am sure he will get over everything and do what he does best. He’s always proved that what he does best is score and I’m sure he will do everything to be anxiety free to score.”
Ronaldo has not scored in 36 free-kick attempts at major tournaments but Santos said: “He will carry on taking free-kicks and penalties. We have someone who is the standard-bearer for our country, and we do love him. The Portuguese love Cristiano.”
