Roberto Martínez on Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly promising the entire Portugal squad and staff Rolex watches if they win the World Cup:
🗣️ “When Cristiano stood up and made that promise, the room went silent. Not because of the watches but because everyone understood what it meant. He wasn't talking about gifts. He was talking about history.
People outside will focus on the Rolex part because it's an easy headline. But what they don't see is a captain putting even more pressure on himself and challenging every single person around him to think bigger.
Cristiano looked around that dressing room and said that if Portugal bring home the World Cup, nobody should leave empty-handed. That's the mentality he has. He wants everyone from the star players to the staff behind the scenes to feel part of something historic.
The truth is, those watches are nothing compared to what winning would mean. Cristiano already has money, records, trophies, and individual awards. The one thing that still burns inside him is delivering the biggest prize in football to his country.
I've managed many players, but very few are willing to put themselves under this kind of pressure publicly. He's basically telling the world that failure isn't what he's thinking about. He's thinking about lifting the trophy.
And I'll be honest when a player with his career starts talking like that, people listen. Not because of the watches, but because they know how obsessed he is with turning words into reality.
If Portugal win the World Cup, people will remember the trophy. But they'll also remember the moment Cristiano made it clear that he wasn't travelling to the tournament to compete he was travelling there to make history.”