Fans have been left stunned after Portugal left out Cristiano Ronaldo for their World Cup last-16 tie against Switzerland. The former Manchester United striker had his contract terminated earlier in the tournament following his infamous interview with Piers Morgan, but has continued to play for his country in Qatar.
Ronaldo scored in the dramatic 3-2 opening group stage game win over Ghana but hasn't added another since converting from the spot. He started all three of the games and captained his side but angered his manager Fernando Santos with the way he left the pitch against South Korea.
The 37-year-old was a second half substitute in the final group game and made a silencing gesture after leaving the pitch, which his manager responded to, saying, "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."
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It's not the first time Ronaldo has turned his manager towards him in recent weeks after Erik ten Hag was left stunned by his choice to leave the bench early during a 2-0 win over Tottenham, that game all but ended his Premier League career, and Santos has now punished the star by leaving him out of the starting XI for what could be his final World Cup match.
Social media was ablaze at the decision, and here's how Twitter reacted to the news:
@AlexShawESPN: Ronaldo can protest all he wants but the reality is that managers for club and country now reckon their teams are better off without him. He reckons he can still play elite CL football but the only club keen on him at the moment is Al Nassr
@danmufc11: I see another interview with piers coming up
@SandileRichnet: Someone compared Ronaldo to the almighty Messi for 17 years
@kassimisola: To be fair to Ronaldo, he’s way outta form… age is telling on him.
@ChelseaNYC13: Ronaldo is doing a great job destroying the late stages of his career.
@ChelseaHQ_: Ronaldo dropped. how people see him above Messi will never make sense to me lol, just watch the game
@CallmiAbbas: So Some Chelsea fans are supporting Ronaldo over their player, Zakaria?
@EFCxGoat: Why do Chelsea fans always twerk for Ronaldo? Have I missed something?
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