It has been a frustrating Euro 2020 for Bruno Fernandes so far.
Quite simply, he is at the heart of everything, and United have become incredibly reliant on his consistent ability to contribute on a game-by-game basis.
He has overtaken Michel Platini to become the top scorer in the history of the men’s European Championship, and is now just two short of equalling Ali Daei’s men’s international record of 109 goals.
At Manchester United, Wayne Rooney was often deployed out wide by Sir Alex Ferguson and asked to cover the defensive side of Ronaldo’s game to allow him to focus solely on his attacking brief.
But to go from being the main man at club level to a supporting role for Portugal will be tough for Fernandes, and his contribution so far this summer reflects that.
After each team had played two fixtures, Ronaldo sat in second place on 32,994 points, behind Italy’s Manuel Locatelli, who leads the way on 38,134 points.
For United, Fernandes takes the majority of free kicks and penalties, so his importance with Portugal drops off due to Ronaldo’s responsibility for taking those key set pieces.
He looks frustrated at being unable to affect games as he would usually expect to, but the arm-waving histrionics that often accompany his performances for United, when misplaced passes from teammates quite clearly anger him, are not present with Portugal.
Fernandes has the Ronaldo role for United, but he will never have it for Portugal while the Juventus forward continues to represent his country.
Saturday’s defeat against Germany has put Portugal in danger of missing out on qualification if they lose to France in Budapest.