Sometimes the end comes gradually, sometimes suddenly. And sometimes both. Two weeks to the day since Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United, Portugal left him out. Discarded by club, dropped by country, Ronaldo should not search out Piers Morgan to cry betrayal again. As Goncalo Ramos did his finest Geoff Hurst impression, starting a World Cup on the bench and scoring a hat-trick in the knockout stages while standing in for a great, Ronaldo found himself replaced by a revelation.
When the chant of “Ronaldo” rang around the Lusail after an hour, it was a tribute, rather than a rebellion. The most contentious call of Fernando Santos’s managerial career was starting to look the best. When Ronaldo entered the fray for the final 18 minutes, it was to deafening ovation, but after a seismic shift in the pecking order. The player many think is the finest ever is now the understudy to a prospect who was uncapped three weeks ago.
