Ronaldo's ex-teammate explains star's reaction over early substitution during Euro 2024 exit

Al-Nassr star kicked turf as he was substituted during Portugal's 2-0 shock defeat by Georgia in Euro 2024 qualifiers

Cristiano Ronaldo was visibly frustrated after being substituted in Portugal's 2-0 loss to Georgia at Euro 2024, but the footbal star's former Manchester United teammate Wes Brown has explained that the anger was "actually self-directed".

Wes Brown jumped to Ronaldo's defence, asserting that his apparent frustration during Portugal's Euro 2024 qualifier was self-directed rather than aimed at teammates or the manager.

Ronaldo is yet to score at the tournament and drew another blank on Wednesday night, despite having a number of shots on goal with his frustration growing as the game wore on.

Brown discussed Ronaldo's reaction after he was subbed off in the 66th minute of the match against Georgia, which ended in a 2-0 defeat for Portugal.

The Al-Nassr star, who had earlier received a yellow card, was substituted for Goncalo Ramos and didn't hide his irritation with how his game went.

On Reach's latest podcast episode of Euro Thrash, host Nubaid Haroon brought up Ronaldo's ire to Brown, saying, "Your mate Cristiano was playing, and he was raging. What was happening with him?"

Brown shed light on Ronaldo's mentality, "That's normal. He's come off, he wants to score. I've said this in previous ones. His attitude's so good."

"People might think he's snapping at other people but he's not. He's just wounded he's not scored before he's come off. He probably knew he was coming off after a certain amount of time by the way, and he'll just be disappointed he's not contributed or got an assist or a goal."

Ronaldo's decision to play in every group-stage game has stirred up some controversy, particularly as the 39-year-old was selected over younger talents and hasn't been given any rest.

With just one assist in the first three matches, Ronaldo's performance at the tournament has been disappointing.