Man City's Ruben Dias makes Cristiano Ronaldo admission as Man United ace prepares for World Cup

Manchester City defender Ruben Dias has insisted Portugal cannot pin all of their hopes on Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo at the World Cup later this year.

While the two players ply their trades for opposing teams in Manchester, they will both be hoping they are on the same winning side at the World Cup in Qatar.

Ronaldo has made 189 appearances for Portugal, registering 117 goals and 42 assists. The 37-year-old, who captains his country, made his international debut for Portugal in 2003 at the age of 18. Meanwhile, Dias has played for Portugal on 37 occasions, chipping in with two goals since making his debut in 2018.

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Although Ronaldo has only scored one goal for Erik ten Hag's side so far this season - which came in the 2-0 win over Sheriff on Thursday night - Dias believes that the veteran striker will still be an important player for Portugal at the World Cup. However, the City centre-back was also keen to stress that his national side has a number of other threats, adding that it is 'crucial' that the entire squad is working collectively, rather than individually.

"No doubt about it. Ronaldo's status is Ronaldo's status, and I don't think there's much more to add to that," Dias said. "But I think above all, it's important to take into account that it's Ronaldo, it's Bernardo Silva, it's João Cancelo, it's Pepe, it's Rúben Dias, it's Rafael Leão, it's Bruno Fernandes, it's Nuno Mendes, it's Danilo Pereira, it's Diogo Jota.

"Obviously, Cristiano is a very important player for us. But if we really want to do something special, we have to understand that only all of us together can do that. We don't lack individualities,