Rodrigo Bentancur says his former Juventus teammate Cristiano Ronaldo is a ‘great person’ and looks forward to hugging him before Portugal-Uruguay tomorrow.
Bentancur and Ronaldo spent three years together in Turin. The Portuguese striker arrived in the summer of 2018, leaving three years later, after scoring 101 goals in 134 appearances and winning two Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia and one Supercup.
Bentancur, on the other hand, had landed in Turin in 2017 and flew to Tottenham six months after Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United, completing a €19m move to North London.
Tomorrow, they will reunite in Portugal-Uruguay at the World Cup.
“The last time we met was in London when we [Tottenham] played Manchester United,” Bentancur said at a press conference today, as quoted by A Bola.
“It was a good relationship [at Juventus] and whenever we cross paths, we salute each other. He’s a great person; one doesn’t even need to talk about him as a footballer. Tomorrow we will surely hug each other.”
Bentancur scored three goals in 181 appearances with the Bianconeri and has already netted five in 36 matches at Tottenham under Italian coach Antonio Conte. He signed a contract until 2026 in North London.
Uruguay collected a 0-0 draw against South Korea in their World Cup opener on Thursday, while Portugal beat Ghana 3-2.