Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly refused to train with substitutes in the Portugal squad after being left on the bench against Switzerland.
The former Manchester United forward has continued to stir reactions in Qatar, drawing parallel with his last days at Manchester United.
Ronaldo left Manchester United for the World Cup with a tense relationship with the Old Trafford club. He fell out with the club’s hierarchy after his controversial interview with Piers Morgan.
The five times Ballon d’Or winner slammed the club’s owner for mishandling the club and admitted having no respect for new manager Erik Ten Hag.
Manchester United immediately swung into action, bringing down his giant mural at Old Trafford and initiating a contract termination process.
While in Qatar, the Red Devils announce their decision to terminate his contract. Ronaldo consented to the contract termination, and the two parties parted ways.
In Qatar, Ronaldo appeared chirpy and optimistic, putting behind his travails at Manchester United to focus on leading Portugal’s national team to the World Cup trophy.
In his opening game, it appeared that Ronaldo would be set for a heroic World Cup campaign. He scored the team’s opening goal in the tournament in a 3-2 win over Ghana.
Against Uruguay, he could not find the back of the net and failed to claim one of Bruno Hernandez’s brace.
In the last group game against South Korea, Ronaldo was subbed off earlier than expected in the second half. He was obviously furious and had appeared to mutter an angry remark directed at his boss, Dos Santos, for subbing him off.
However, he later came out to deny spitting bitter remarks at his boss, saying he aimed the angry outburst at a South Korean player who wanted to hurry him off the pitch when he was about to be subbed off.
Meanwhile, Portugal qualified from the World Cup group stage and set up a round of 16 clash with Switzerland.
In the game against Switzerland, Dos Santos dropped Ronaldo on the bench for the first time in the tournament.
He replaced him with 21-year-old Benfica forward Goncalo Ramos. Goncalo obviously gave more momentum to the Portuguese attack. He bagged a hat trick in the game, helping the team to a 6-1 victory over Switzerland.
After the game, Portuguese media were flooded with pics of Goncalo Ramos, hailing the arrival of a new dawn in the Portuguese team. Goncalo Ramos was tipped to lead the next generation of Portugal forwards – indirectly teething Cristiano Ronaldo’s poor performance with the team so far.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo sparked reactions at the end of the game against Switzerland. Dos Santos subbed him on in the 74th minute. He recorded no assist or a goal.
After the game, a furious Cristiano Ronaldo angrily walked off the pitch, leaving his teammates, and not joining the celebration.
He headed down the tunnel and exited the stadium to the glare of cameras and the team’s crew. Ronaldo must have gone furious after playing for less than 20 minutes and not making Dos Santos’ starting lineup.
Meanwhile, Dos Santos had previously debunked rumors linking his decision to drop Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench to the player’s angry outburst during the South Korea game.
Although he admitted not being happy with Ronaldo’s attitude in the game against South Korea, Dos Santos said that was not why he left him on the bench in the following round of 16 games against Switzerland.
He said he left him out from the starting lineup for tactical reasons to beat the defense strategy of the Swiss.
However, after the game, Ronaldo has reportedly refused to join Portugal’s substitutes training even after he played for less than 20 minutes in the Switzerland game.
His antics is said to have ‘surprised’ his teammates, who knew he was supposed to join the substitutes in their training session, not first-team players, after he made the bench in the game against Switzerland.
According to Marca, Ronaldo opted to join the first-team players instead in their gym session. Apparently, Ronaldo’s move is still in revolt against Dos Santos’s decision to drop him on the bench against Switzerland.
Portugal faces Morocco in a crucial quarterfinal clash. It is still unknown whether Goncalo Ramos will peep the five times Ballon d’Or winner again to the starting position after his heroic performance against the Swiss.
