Former assistant manager to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, Rene Meulensteen, has revealed that he is relieved not to be coaching Cristiano Ronaldo after reports surfaced following Portugal's 6-1 victory over Switzerland.
Portuguese media outlet Record claimed that before the Round of 16 World Cup tie with the Swiss, Ronaldo threatened to walk away from the national team once he discovered that he would be a substitute. The country's FA would later deny these reports but the 37-year-old did appear to be unhappy on Tuesday night.
His international coach, Fernando Santos was spotted having a conversation with Ronaldo who appeared disappointed to be on the bench until the 73rd minute in Lusail. At full-time, following Goncalo Ramos' hat-trick helped Portugal to a 6-1 win, Ronaldo was spotted leaving the on-field celebrations early to return to the dressing room.
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This has since sparked further claims of unrest in the Portuguese camp ahead of Saturday's clash with Morocco in the quarter-finals. Appearing as a guest on talkSPORT, Meulensteen was asked about the situation with Ronaldo, a player he knows well having coached him for two years at United.
The current assistant Australia coach went on to claim that he was happy not to be in the Portuguese camp currently because of what is happening with the ex- United man. "I'm glad I'm not the coach of Portugal at the moment, but I think it's a little sad to see that this type of situation can unfold the way it did in what is the biggest showcase of football in the world," he explained.
"I believe that the coach of Portugal [Fernando Santos] handled the whole situation very well. Let's be clear, it was a clear message for the group to show that he is the boss and that nobody is bigger than what they are trying to conquer, the World Cup.
"I hope that he [Fernando Santos] has a good conversation with Ronaldo and that he says: 'Look, the situation is what it is and now you can do two things: accept [this scenario] or not.' I believe there is still room for him and a role he can play in the team."
He added: "Who knows, maybe he'll come in half an hour before the final whistle and even score the winning goal [for Portugal against Morocco] and suddenly everything is turned upside down again." Should the Portuguese progress on Saturday, they will face either France or England in the semi-finals of the World Cup.
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