CRISTIANO RONALDO is so big that he gets presidential treatment in Portugal.
The football legend — still playing at 41 — looks set to start the farewell leg of his incredible career against in the Nations League tonight.
confirmed the World Cup in the summer would be his last and after Portugal’s last-16 exit to eventual winners .
But he has been named in Jorge Jesus’ first squad and there have been no signs yet he will follow great rival into international football retirement.
Wales boss , who last shared a pitch with the ex-Manchester United and forward playing for at Old Trafford back in October 2008, hailed Ronaldo’s greatness.
Bellamy, 47, who was assistant between 2022-24, said: “We’re talking about not just one of the greatest players of our generation, we’re talking all generations with what he has been able to do.
“His professionalism, cleverness and he’s still got that habit of goalscoring and you never lose that. He’s beyond a superstar.
“But I’ll tell you how big he is. I was with Burnley on pre-season in Lisbon. We got to the airport and the police were everywhere — it was on lockdown.
“We’re Burnley and we had a little bit of VIP.
“We were on a coach, had a chartered flight but still had to go in the airport a certain way. It was like rows of police with police cars everywhere. And we thought, ‘Something has happened’.
“Everything was locked off. We couldn’t get off the coach and had to wait for what we thought was a security breach.
“We’re stuck on the coach for 10-15 minutes, then suddenly this car turns up.
“It parks and a guy walks out, goes in the boot, grabs a rucksack and someone else gets out and puts the rucksack on and who is it? Ronaldo.
“He is walking on his own with police everywhere and Lisbon airport locked off.
“Even the police were there taking pictures! No one could bother him.
“It was the coolest walk that I have ever watched for a minute.
“We were all on the coach and our jaws dropped. And everyone who had been moaning quickly shut up. It was like president’s stuff.
“How can you lock off a whole airport?
“I would not be able to get my computer through customs in Cardiff airport!
“What have I just seen? The reason I’m telling this story is because that’s how big this guy is.
“It was just like, ‘Wow’. I’m so glad I saw that moment because he is just beyond a superstar.”
Wales face a daunting night on their return to League A of the Nations League in Lisbon. Bellamy’s men must cope with not only Ronaldo — with the fixture being played at his first club Sporting — but also , and Ruben Dias.
Not to mention Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League- winning trio of , and Joao Neves.
But Bellamy wants Wales to embrace testing themselves against the best on the biggest stage.
He added: “We get to play in Lisbon at the ground where he started at and they have had a change of manager who he knows very well. So, the occasion will be amazing.
“It just adds to how many great players they have, the amount of Champions League winners they have and it’s a special game.
“We just have to be excited — but not too excited. We have worked really hard to get into League A.
“So what can we do to stay in it? If we do [stay in it] then it will help us massively and that’s the motivation.
“You want to be in these moments in football.
“When your playing days finish, you won’t remember Bury away — unless you got booted!
“These are really the moments that you will remember and will live with you.
“I want my players to go out there and just give everything.
“Just love every second of it — that should be our drive.”
