The Belgian central Jan Vertonghen affirmed on the eve of the round of 16 of the Eurocup against Portugal, in Seville, that Cristiano Ronaldo “is the greatest in the history” of football in his country and “must be respected”, but he specified that “on Sunday there is no Belgium-Ronaldo, but a Belgium-Portugal”In which his team hopes to win.
“When there you see a T-shirt of Portugal on the street, in 99 percent of the cases it has the name of Ronaldo; It is the largest in its history and I respect it a lot, “said the Belgian defender of the Benfica, although he clarified that the Portuguese team has “many good quality players, and ours as well.”
Vertonghen, who signed last summer for him Benfica after eight years in the Tottenham English said that Christian “He is a phenomenon, an example, he works a lot in all training sessions, he deserves everything he has done and maybe he can play until he is 40 years old”, because “he shows his quality in every game and you can only admire him.”
He added that he does not think that he has never won on the four occasions in which he has faced the de Madeira and added that “he is a striker who scores goals in almost all his matches, he has shown it many times,” so this Sunday Belgium You have to be “aware” of it and avoid “dialing again.”
The Belgian center-back avoided opting for the Portuguese forward of Juventus or the Argentine for Barcelona Leo Messi, since “it would be disrespectful” and, furthermore, both “are great footballers and I admire them both, especially because they continue to play at this point”.
He also praised his teammate Romelu lukaku, “One of the best strikers in the world” and that “since he was 16 years old he has had to endure a lot of criticism, but he has grown a lot”.
“From being a strong and fast kid, he has become one of the best forwards. His unrivaled work is impressive, each individual trophy and each goal he scores is due to that work, so he is an example for all young people and all footballers in the world ”, he stressed.
With “eager to return to Benfica to win trophies with a full stadium ”, Vertonghen, 34 years old and now in the Portuguese League, pointed out about the possible sympathy of his daughters for Portugal who “go to school” in that country, where “they are very passionate about football”, although he was sure that on Sunday they will support Bélogic.
“On Sunday, at home, they can wear whatever they want, but it will surely be the shirt of Belgium”, He asserted.