Cristiano Ronaldo's sister, Katie Aveiro, has jumped to her brother's defence after the Manchester United star was severely criticized by a section of Portuguese fans for his performances. Aveiro called these fans 'ungrateful' and 'soulless' after they slammed the 37-year-old for his performance during Portugal's 1-0 defeat against Spain in their last game of the UEFA Nations League group stage.

Taking to her official Instagram account, Katie Aveiro wrote in Portuguese, "In sport, in football, like in life, ungratefulness is the worst of all vices! You have to give a hand to those who have always given theirs for Portugal. But the Portuguese are sick, petty, soulless, stupid, ungrateful and forever ungrateful... No one is giving him a hand. It's cruel. He has and continues to give so much."

The criticism from a section of Portuguese fans is coming even though Ronaldo is the world's top international goalscorer. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has scored 117 goals for Portugal and also played a vital role in helping his national side win the Euro 2016 tournament.

While elaborating on how some of the Portuguese fans are 'ungrateful,' Aveiro shared a picture of her brother on her Instagram story and added, "The one who is sitting down is Cristiano Ronaldo [in the photograph] and he is simply the best player in the world. It doesn't surprise me at all in the current times we live in, the Portuguese spit on the plate they eat, it's always been that way. So, when someone appears from the ashes and changes mindsets, it bothers them... With you always, my king. 'Calm.'"

Cristiano Ronaldo faced massive criticism by a section of Portuguese fans after the national team failed to qualify for the UEFA Nations League semi-finals. The 37-year-old played the entire 90 minutes against Spain and could not find the back of the net despite having a few good chances. As a result, Spain went on to win the final group stage game by a scoreline of 1-0 with Alvaro Morata scoring the goal for the away side.