Portugal have dropped Cristiano Ronaldo for their FIFA World Cup Round of 16 against Switzerland.
Pressure has been building to drop the superstar forward on manager Fernando Santos after Ronaldo's latest antics and it has now been confirmed that he will take his place on the bench for the game on Tuesday night.
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 his then 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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A goal in that first match against Ghana looked to have swept all of that under the rug, but new developments following the Seleção’s last outing in Group H have stirred up a fresh debate over whether they would be better off leaving Ronaldo out of the starting line-up.
The latest drama has spiralled from Ronaldo’s reaction at the time of being withdrawn in the 65th minute of Portugal’s 2-1 loss to South Korea in the final round of group fixtures.
Ronaldo’s rage was initially aimed at opposition striker Cho Gue-Sung, who had tried to hurry him off the pitch with the score still level. However, word reached Santos that part of his striker’s outburst was down to displeasure of being substituted.
The veteran coach addressed the issue in his press conference yesterday, keen to draw a line under it.
“I did a flash interview when the match ended. Then I went into the press conference. I’d heard him (Ronaldo) in discussion with Korea’s players,” said Santos. “But I didn’t like the other images when I saw them. Not at all. I really didn’t like them. Now, everything has finished. That issue is finished. Full stop. Everyone has to focus on tomorrow.”
He was then quizzed over whether the incident would result in action against Ronaldo, first in the form of the removal of the former Real Madrid player’s captaincy.
“I only decide who’s going to be the captain when I reach the stadium. That’s what I always do. The other matter is solved. It’s been solved at our camp. That’s it,” he said, eager to remain coy.
Finally, the topic of the conference shifted to how the Portuguese people have started to feel about Ronaldo, and if Santos would respond. In the aftermath of the last match, a poll in the country’s media displayed that 70% would be in favour of his axing for the Round of 16 in favour of Benfica’s Gonçalo Ramos.
This time, the Portugal boss replied: “Look, I do not read this type of information. I’m not paying attention to polls or any other type of business. I’m focusing on the immediate match. I’m not worried if this is right or wrong. Since I started coaching this squad, this is the way I do things.”
With more speculation on the striker’s club situation coming to the fore amidst an alleged £173 million-per-year contract offer from Saudi Arabian outfit Al Nassr, Ronaldo now has to take his place on the bench for the game.
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