«Sometimes something that doesn't reflect the truth takes on a massive proportion»

— How did you handle the controversy surrounding João Neves? Did you speak with João?

— Without revealing too much of what goes on behind closed doors, we had a conversation about this before the World Cup. When you have Cristiano Ronaldo in the squad, you have to be prepared for a different kind of buzz than usual. The fact that we had that discussion to prepare for these moments… that's where the message comes from that the group is shielded. We knew we would go through this, and it ended up happening. Sometimes something unfair, that doesn't reflect the truth, takes on a massive proportion, and that's what occurred. The positive side is that it happened early, so we can put the matter to rest and move on.