daily mail
Sulky Ronaldo is accused of trying to break Silva's leg and clashes with other Brazil stars during Portugal's heavy defeat
Cristiano Ronaldo was accused of almost breaking a Brazil defender's leg on a miserable night for the Portugal and Manchester United star.
The 23-year-old had hoped to press his claim as the best player in the world during the friendly in Brasilia, but was largely anonymous as his team were hammered 6-2.
The winger clashed with several opponents and sulked through the match as Kaka, Robinho and Luis Fabiano far outshone Ronaldo.
Flare up: Ronaldo grabs Marcelo round the neck
And Brazil centre back Thiago Silva, who has been linked with a January move to Chelsea, criticised the former Sporting Lisbon player for a crude tackle in the second half.
Silva, who is set to leave Fluminense when his contract runs out next month, refused to let Ronaldo help him to his feet after the challenge and the pair exchanged words on the pitch.
The 24-year-old defender said: 'I don't accept his apology. He has the cheek to say I jumped over his tackle. But if I did not jump he would have broken my leg.
'Being considered the best player in the world, he must have more respect. It is difficult to accept what he did.
'He is a little [naughty], yes. But that is football. And we need to know to deal with it. 'He was nervous because he couldn't create anything.'
Hold on: Kaka (right) grabs Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo
The incident came towards the end of Portugal's humbling by a team who had failed to score in five of their last seven games and were reportedly on the verge of ousting manager Dunga.
Things started brightly for Portugal when Zenit St Petersburg forward Danny scored in the fourth minute. But Sevilla's Luis Fabiano responded quickly with the first of a hat-trick. Maicon, Elano and Adriano scored the rest for Brazil, while Simao hit Portugal's second.
Ronaldo had swept into Brazil earlier in the week cheekily insisting he was the first, second and third best players in the world.
But reigning Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Footballer of the Year Kaka showed him a trick or two.
Another flashpoint: Ronaldo quarrels with Luisao
Ronaldo consistently looked frustrated and complained to the referee within seven minutes after limping out of a challenge with Manchester City rival Elano. Late in the game he clashed with a possible future team-mate - Real Madrid left-back Marcelo.
The pair squared up and the Brazilian said afterwards: 'He poked me in the chest and I said that he shouldn't do that. He wanted to shout louder than me and then I replied. But this is a game, it's normal.'
The Portuguese press criticised the Old Trafford idol for being selfish after the match and raised questions about the future of coach Carlos Queiroz.
Queiroz, the Manchester United former No 2 who has only been in the job since this summer, refused to criticise Ronaldo.
'The formation is different (to Manchester United) and so are the players that work with him,' said the coach. 'We have to give him support and service so that Cristiano can show more of his football.'
Queiroz avoided comparing Ronaldo to AC Milan star Kaka, and said: 'The stories surrounding this match were not created by me. The environment that I created was that this was a game between Brazil and Portugal.'
Dunga said he still thought Ronaldo would take the acclaim this year but singled out Manchester City star Robinho as a future contender for the top awards in football.
'We have to respect what Cristiano Ronaldo has done in recent years. He is deserving,' said Dunga. 'Robinho is also an exceptional level and is growing, maturing. Soon we will have three Brazilians disputing the award for best in the world.'
Dunga was once again jeered by supporters at this rarest of events: a home friendly by Brazil.
Rumours on Tuesday suggested he would resign after the Portugal game following a poor start to the World Cup qualifying came, but he insisted: 'The way that we played gives us more confidence to continue our work.
'When I see the president (of the CBF Ricardo Teixeira) he is calm and supportive.'
Linear Mode
