After he was sanctioned with a one-match suspension for an “immoral” gesture, Cristiano Ronaldo reappeared before the media to describe how he has coped with the punishment and his regret as the Portuguese star spoke before the second leg of his team, Al-Nassr, against Al Ain in the Asian Champions League, which in the first leg was a 1-0 loss for his team.

Ronaldo, questioned at a press conference about the sanction for his “immoral” gesture to the fans who shouted “Messi, Messi…”, wanted to make clear his opinion about the whole matter and tried to settle the issue by showing words of regret. Ronaldo and Messi enjoyed a famous rivalry between 2009-2018 but the pair have never really reacted to it out of a sporting context, until now as CR7 took it personally.

“Some people have a misunderstanding of things, and my actions are sometimes misunderstood,” Ronaldo said to media ahead of the game. “What I did and what I was punished for was a misunderstanding. I respect the country I live in. That reaction is a normal thing in Europe but who doesn’t make mistakes in life?

“I promise you because I am a human being and nothing is perfect and life is made of mistakes, but it is better to reduce mistakes to improve. Sometimes the passion for the game and the enthusiasm make you make mistakes. So, who doesn’t make mistakes? But I didn’t do anything wrong intentionally. I always respect the customs and traditions of countries.”

Ronaldo calls for fans to back him

Al Ain won the first leg of the tie thanks to a 44th minute strike by Soufiane Rahimi to give the Emirati side the advantage heading into the second leg of the quarterfinals tie as the game saw Ayermic Laporte, formerly Manchester City, sent off in injury time.

Regarding the second leg against Al Ain, the Portuguese took advantage of the press conference to make an appeal to his team’s fans to get behind Al-Nassr to help spur them on into the final.

“I have an opportunity from the media to send a message to the fans: We need you tomorrow to win,” Ronaldo added. “Tomorrow is a very important match and we know it.

“The players, the fans and the country in general know its importance and as the coach said we are ready and waiting for it to be a special night. The match is in our stadium and in front of our fans. In my opinion, in the first leg we could have scored one or two goals. We won’t save a drop of sweat tomorrow.

“I am happy to be in Saudi Arabia and happy to represent Al-Nassr. For me so far, our season is positive, because so far, we have had chances in all tournaments.”