Cristiano Ronaldo's sister calls Portugal fans 'sick, petty, soulless, stupid and ungrateful’

But some of the Portuguese press clearly feel he does not deserve to start with the Qatar World Cup in sight.

With those critics in mind, Ronaldo's sister, Katia Aveiro, has leapt to the defence of United's number 7 with a scathing rant towards "the Portuguese", labelling them "sick, petty and stupid" in an astonishing Instagram post.

“He has his family and those who love him by his side. They will always be by his side, no matter what," she wrote. "But the current times don’t surprise me at all. The Portuguese spit on the plate they eat [from], it has always been that way.

“That’s why when someone appears from the ashes and changes mentalities, it bothers… With you always, my king. Calm down.

“It is necessary to give a hand to those who have always given theirs to Portugal. But the Portuguese are sick, petty, soulless, stupid, ungrateful and forever ungrateful. This guy who’s sitting, he’s on his knees… There’s no one to give him a hand.

“It is cruel. And it was already so much, but so much that he gave and gives. The one sitting is called Cristiano Ronaldo and he is just the best player in the world.”

"He has won everything, he has been a phenomenon. Now it’s time to retire.

“I have a lot of respect for CR7, but I don’t like him as a player. [Lionel] Messi is like [Diego] Maradona. He had to leave Argentina at the age of 14 and face serious physical problems, which speaks of sacrifices.”

Thoughts on Ronaldo's form at present? Does he deserve a place in Portugal's starting XI?

Let us know in the comments.