West Ham midfielder Dimitri Payet has denied he has any axe to grind with Cristiano Ronaldo and insisted he was joking when he said he had forbidden his sons to pronounce the Real Madrid star's name.
Payet last week told L'Equipe that his three sons were huge fans of Ronaldo -- the man who denied their father victory in the Euro 2016 final when Portugal beat France.
Payet, whose challenge forced the Portugal captain off with injury early in the final, had joked: "Actually, since the Euros, they're not allowed to say Ronaldo's name."
The statement was taken at face value by some media outlets, however, prompting the West Ham man to clarify the situation to RMC.
"It was said as a joke, but today, there is so much buzz where articles have to be written, things have to be spiced up," Payet said. "It's unfortunate, and you have to take care. For me, there was no controversy. But perhaps I've had some death threats from Portuguese people on social media.
"The only thing I can reproach him for is having lifted the trophy in our place. I have nothing against him. I also think that the controversy has stemmed from the fact where he got injured in the game after contact with me.
"My children are at an age where they adore Ronaldo, [Lionel] Messi and Neymar. Of course they do, they're the best players in the world, so I don't see why I would forbid that to my son."