Pepe says Ronaldo created family atmosphere for Portugal team

Portuguese defender Pepe has praised the role played by star forward Cristiano Ronaldo during the Euro football championship, indicating that the captain helped create a family atmosphere in the squad.

In an interview released on Saturday by Portuguese newspaper Expresso, Pepe explained that Ronaldo "welcomes new players very well" and treats everyone equally and helped create "a family atmosphere", reports Efe.

The Real Madrid defender believes that his club-mate's treatment did not change during the European championship, which was won by Portugal for the first time in its history.

Pepe acknowledged that he only began to think that his national team could win the Euro after the quarter-final victory over Poland.