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Pepe: We won Euro 2016 for Ronaldo

Reuters

Euro 2016 winner Pepe says he and his Portugal teammates told an injured Cristiano Ronaldo they would go on to win the tournament on his behalf, and the Selecao delivered on that promise courtesy of a late winner by Eder.

The Real Madrid defender, who was named Man of the Match in the 1-0 final win over host nation France, said his side rallied after Ronaldo was stretchered off with a knee injury and came out deserved winners at the Stade de France.

"It was tough to lose our main man, the man who could at any moment score a goal. We said we would win it for him and we managed to do that," Pepe said after the match, according to BBC Sport. "He could make the difference but we were warriors on the pitch.

Related: The story of Portugal's Euro 2016 victory, told in photos

"There was a lot of suffering, it was a very intense game. We fought very hard. We had to work very hard and be more humble than the other team, that's the only way to win.

"We left it all out there. We represented Portugal, a beautiful country of immigrants and we represent every one of them. This goes out to them."

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