All is forgiven.
The needlessly harsh comments made by Cristiano Ronaldo to Iceland’s footballers have been forgotten.
In the group stage of Euro 2016, Ronaldo offered a stinging criticism of the Icelandic players who celebrated a 1-1 draw with Portugal as though they had won the entire tournament.
Ronaldo said: “When they don’t try to play and just defend, defend, defend, this in my opinion shows a small mentality and they are not going to do anything in the competition.”
Cristiano Ronaldo ripped into Iceland's plucky heroes after last night's draw https://t.co/qrA9MaMQGC
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) June 15, 2016
Iceland proved to have anything but a small mentality by progressing as far as the quarter-finals of Euro 2016, hugely surpassing all expectations.
Portugal made it all the way to the final but were hit with a considerable blow midway through the first half against France when captain and talisman Cristiano Ronaldo was carried off the Stade de France pitch with a knee injury.
Tributes poured in for the Real Madrid star but there were none more fitting than that from the official Twitter of Icelandic football.
It doesn't matter what Ronaldo said about Iceland, this is absolutely heart-breaking. We feel so sorry for him, devastating for this legend.
— Icelandic Football (@icelandfootball) July 10, 2016
Sheer class.
