Almost R16k to watch Cristiano Ronaldo train with Portugal before Euro 2024

Tickets to watch Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo train with the national team in an open session on Friday at their Euro 2024 tournament base in Westphalia are on sale for as much as €800 (almost R16 000).

Ronaldo, the leading scorer in men’s international football with 128 goals in 204 official matches, will be playing in his sixth Euros, having reached the final on his tournament debut in 2004 and winning the competition in 2016.

The 39-year-old has played in Saudi Arabia since his move there in 2023.

The 6 000 free tickets for Friday’s training session were snapped up in a few minutes when they went on sale, and some are now being offered in small adds for hundreds of euros.

There were several tickets offered for €400 (nearly R8 000), while others were on sale for €800 on the German kleinanzeigen small adds website.

Meanwhile, Bruno Fernandes said the criticism that followed Portugal’s 2-1 defeat by Croatia at the weekend was a reflection of fans’ elevated expectations ahead of Euro 2024.

Portugal won all 10 of their qualifiers, but their preparations for the June 14 to July 14 tournament in Germany have been far from perfect, with losses to Slovenia and Croatia in recent friendlies.

“I don’t want anyone to think that we came to this point thinking that everything was done and there was nothing to improve,” midfielder Fernandes told reporters on Monday.

“There are always aspects to improve. To be honest, I like a bit of this negativity around the national team – ‘the team isn’t as good anymore’, ‘it’s still not what we want’.

“I like it because it’s a sign that people expect a lot from us and want more from the national team.

“It means that we players who are representing the country have the quality to do more. We know that, we have ambition and we want to do more and better.”

Portugal were set to play Ireland in their final warm-up match yesterday. They are in Euro 2024 Group F, and begin their campaign against the Czech Republic on June 18, before taking on Turkey and Georgia. | Reuters