Portugal defender, Joao Cancelo has named teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo as the best player ever in the history of his country.

Cancelo said this while speaking on Ronaldo’s omission from Portugal’s squad to face Croatia in the Nations League on Monday.

Recall that Ronaldo was among the four players that Portugal manager Roberto Martinez decided not to include in his squad to face Croatia following their thumping win over Poland on Friday.

Martinez insisted he wants to give other young players the chance to play as Portugal have already confirmed their place at the top of their UEFA Nations League group.

When asked about Ronaldo’s absence from the squad to face Croatia, Cancelo said at a press conference (via Al Nassr Zone on X):

“The coach decided to rest the best Portuguese player ever and we are here to represent him and the others.”

He added, “We are all a very united group and we want to represent Portugal in the best way and we know they are not here to help and we want to give the best performance possible.”

Cancelo names best player ever in Portugal’s history