After the tears: Ronaldo's mother opens fire on the Portuguese people

Dolores Aveiro, mother of Al-Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo, has opened up about her son's crisis with Portugal coach Jorge Jesus.

The GE network published her comments, originally given to TV 7 Dias magazine.

Dolores admitted she shed a few tears. She also revealed that she had urged her son to stay calm before he decided to leave Portugal's camp in Copenhagen, on the eve of the match against Denmark.

"He said to me: Mum, don't worry, I'll tell the truth when we are all together. So I replied, all right, my son, put things right," Dolores explained.

"I told him to stay calm, but in any case, his mind led him to do it. We'll see. I gave him all my support, but it was of no use," she continued.

She rounded on what she sees as ingratitude from the Portuguese people, calling her son "Portugal's hero".

"But it's all right, he has given a lot to Portugal, and that is why he will always have a place there. He has always been Portugal's hero. They do not give him the appreciation he deserves. They do not value Cristiano. This is the Portuguese people we have," she said.

Ronaldo's mother also lamented the abrupt way her son left the camp, borrowing an expression close to the Brazilian phrase for leaving a place "through the back door". Even so, she believes things could still turn in his favour.

"I feel sad, and that is natural. It was a shock. My son could have gone out through the big door, but he went out through the small door, but it's all right, God will take care of it," she said.