Jose Fonte has told the Daily Telegraph how inspirational it is to share a dressing-room with Cristiano Ronaldo, and sympathised with the cost of the Portugal captain's fame.
Fonte has known Ronaldo since their days at Sporting Lisbon as teenagers and the pair are now set to line up for Portugal against Poland in the first quarterfinal of Euro 2016.
The Southampton defender has watched Ronaldo develop into one of the best footballers in the world, but also one of the most scrutinised.
"You can't go anywhere; everyone knows him," Fonte said. "He is recognised worldwide and attracts so many millions of people. Everyone wants a piece of him.
Front covers of today's O Record and A Bola in Portugal. All eyes on Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of #POLPOR #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/xp69umaHnA
- Joseph Walker (@UEFAcomJoeW) June 30, 2016
"It's difficult. He went through the different stages of fame. Friends who knew him before this, know what a good person he is. We know what he had to do to get to where he has and it's great to see how well he has done in life. It's not an easy situation to be in.
"People think sometimes it's great to be Cristiano. Obviously it has its ups but also the downs. He deals with it in a great manner. It is a privilege to be sharing the dressing room with him. He has been an inspiration to me.
"He's proved time and time again how good he is for [Real Madrid] and he is the best goal scorer in Portugal's history. We believe in him and we just need to make sure, with him, we can achieve what we want. We want to win it and we believe we can do it."
Ronaldo will extend his record of appearances in the European Championship to 19 in Marseille on Thursday evening.