Luis Suarez has insisted that his El Clasico rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo will be put to one side when Uruguay take on Portugal in the last 16 of the World Cup.
The two men have regularly come up against each other in the Spanish top flight in recent years, plying their trades for Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.
Despite the exchanges often becoming heated, Uruguay striker Suarez claims that any ill feeling towards Portuguese star Ronaldo is limited to club matches and not the global stage.
“When it comes to the rivalry with Ronaldo at club level that’s a different thing altogether,” he told reporters ahead of Saturday evening’s clash at the Fisht Olympic Stadium.
“This is a World Cup and of course we’re all defending and we’re all working for our national teams, and that’s the essential aspect. And everybody will try and give their utmost tomorrow as to prevail.”
Uruguay and Portugal have faced off on two previous occasions, but never at the World Cup.