Ronaldo was making the headlines today, two days before Portugal's Confederations Cup debut in Russia, because of a report that said he wants to leave Real Madrid and Spain following allegations that he defrauded the country's tax authorities.
The Portuguese sports daily A Bola published a front-page story Friday saying that Ronaldo was upset with the accusations made against him and that his decision was "irreversible."
The newspaper published the report citing an unnamed source close to Ronaldo. The information could not be independently confirmed by The Associated Press.
After the report, international media filled Portugal's training session in Kazan, where Ronaldo trained normally with the rest of the squad. Portugal, the defending European champions, play Mexico on Sunday in their Group A opener in the eight-nation competition that serves as a warm-up for next year's World Cup in Russia.
"Ronaldo is motivated," young Portugal forward Andre Silva said Friday. "He is taking this competition very seriously and is fully focused on training and on the match against Mexico."
Ronaldo has denied any wrongdoing.
"My conscience is quite clear," Ronaldo said Wednesday as he walked from a Portugal team bus into Lisbon airport on his way to Russia.
Madrid on Wednesday issued a statement saying that it was convinced Ronaldo "will demonstrate his complete innocence."
But Ronaldo has also publicly expressed his discontentment about being jeered at times by some Madrid fans at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, saying that it's unfair considering all that he has done for the club since arriving in 2009.
Before the Champions League final two weeks ago, when Madrid won its second consecutive title with two goals by Ronaldo, the star forward said that he was never jeered while playing for Manchester United, and that he missed his time in England even though he loved living in Madrid and playing for Real Madrid.
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