What Pepe said about Cristiano Ronaldo following Portugal's Euro 2016 victory

The 33-year-old defender was named as man-of-the-match following an impressive defensive performance

Pepe and Ronaldo with the Henri Delaunay Trophy (Getty)

Portugal won the Euro 2016 final for the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, said veteran defender Pepe.

After suffering a strong challenge from Dimitri Payet in the opening 20 minutes of the match, Ronaldo was eventually brought off despite his valiant effort to continue on having taken a knock to his knee.

While many feared the worse, Portugal went on to clinch victory without their captain thanks to a sensational strike from Eder late on in the game.

Speaking afterwards, Pepe said that his side’s victory was for Ronaldo.

"It was tough to lose our main man, the man who could at any moment score a goal. He could make the difference," the 33-year-old said.

"But God helped us…we said we would win it for him and we managed to do that.

"We wrote a brilliant page in the book of Portuguese football history. None of us will ever forget this title. It's an unforgettable evening for us.”

He also praised coach Fernando Santos, saying the former Greece boss "set us up very well strategically".

"It was a Plan B if you like because he moved the team around very well. The right subs came on at the right time.”

Despite Ronaldo’s centrality to Portugal’s Euro 2016 campaign, Pepe made sure to emphasise the role of the team as a whole.

He remarked that his side had “put our blood, sweat and tears " into the game and had performed like "warriors on the pitch". He added that “We’ve all earned this.”

This was Portugal’s first major tournament title despite having reached the semi-finals or final of the European Championship in the past five tournaments.

Their last final appearance came 12 years ago as the hosts of Euro 2004 when underdogs Greece pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the tournament’s 54-year-long history.

Ronaldo starred in that game as a young 19-year-old but was left in tears as the Greeks emerged triumphant in the Estadio da Luz courtesy of an Angelos Charisteas goal in the 57^th minute.