Bernardo Silva hits back at Ronaldo and Portugal critics ahead of Euro 2024 quarter final | OneFootball

Bernardo Silva has defended Cristiano Ronaldo and the rest of his Portugal team-mates following the criticism of their performance against Slovenia in their last outing.

Portugal will take on France in the quarter-finals of the competition after narrowly making it past Slovenia in the round of 16 via a penalty shoot-out victory.

A tearful Ronaldo was visibly emotional after missing a penalty in normal time to put Portugal ahead but Silva says his reaction was understandable.

“We’re humans and he felt emotional when he missed a penalty. It’s acceptable, isn’t it? Sometimes you react in ways you don’t expect… he felt he could have done better in that moment,” Silva said.

“In my opinion it’s a very good penalty and a great save from Oblak and then he cries for a bit, which is how humans deal with emotions sometimes. So I don’t see any reason for people to discuss about it, but obviously people will, because that’s the business.”

Portugal made it through to the knockout stages as group winners but also suffered a defeat to Georgia in the group stages, but Silva says he has grown used to the criticism during international tournaments.

“We understand it, it’s part of the business, it’s the reason why we earn so much money and we are able to give our families and friends a better life. We don’t complain about the criticism, it’s for good and for bad, it’s our job,” Silva said.

“When it comes to June and a World Cup or Euros, everyone thinks they’re a manager. We get that and we accept that.”

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