Cristiano Ronaldo has been dropped by Portugal for their World Cup last-16 tie against Switzerland.
The 37-year-old has been punished by manager Fernando Santos after making an angry gesture having been substituted against South Korea.
The drama has spiralled from Ronaldo’s reaction at the time of being withdrawn in the 65th minute of Portugal’s 2-1 loss to South Korea in the final round of group fixtures, with manager Santos dropping his captain after being shown Ronaldo's reaction ahead of the quarter-final against Switzerland.
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He said before Tuesday's game: "Have I seen the images? Yes, I didn’t like it, not at all. I didn’t like it. I really didn’t like it. But from that moment onwards everything is finished regarding that issue. These matters are resolved behind closed doors. It’s resolved. Full stop on this matter and now everyone is focused on tomorrow’s match."
"I only decide who is going to be captain when I reach the stadium,” Santos said. “I still don’t know what the lineup will be. That’s what I’ve always done and that’s what I’m always going to do and it’s going to be the same tomorrow. The other topic is solved. We have fixed that in-house and that’s it."
Portugal’s tournament has so far been marred by off-field hindrances, which can be traced back to when Ronaldo kicked up a storm with former employers, Manchester United, before joining up with his teammates.
Handed a bit-part role in Erik ten Hag’s revolution at the club the six-time Ballon d’Or winner was not happy with his situation and came out with a scathing attack on the club last month. Ultimately, it led to his contract being terminated just two days before his country kicked off their journey in Qatar.
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