Former Manchester City and Inter Milan forward, Mario Balotelli said Cristiano Ronaldo ‘deserves more respect’.

Ronaldo broke silence on Sunday via his verified Instagram account after Portugal’s quarterfinal shocking World Cup defeat to Morocco, and received support from Mario Balotelli.

Winning a World Cup for Portugal was the biggest and most ambitious dream of my career,” wrote Ronaldo on Instagram.

“Fortunately, I won many international titles, including for Portugal, but putting the name of our country at the top of the world was my biggest dream.

“I fought for this. I fought hard for this dream. In the five World Cups I participated in over 16 years, always flanked by great players and supported by millions of Portuguese fans, I gave my all. I left everything out there on the field.

“I never turned away when the time came to fight, I never gave up on this dream. Unfortunately, yesterday the dream was over.”

Replying to the five-time ballon d’Or winner, Mario Balotelli said : “I am not his fan, as is well known, but for everything he’s done for football, this lad DESERVES MORE RESPECT.”

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