The rest of Portugal’s last 16 substitutes have yet to practice alongside Cristiano Ronaldo today.
The rest of Portugal’s last 16 substitutes have yet to practice alongside Cristiano Ronaldo today. According to rumors in Spain, Cristiano Ronaldo insisted on going to the gym starting on Wednesday rather than training with Portugal’s replacements.
Fernando Santos, the manager of Portugal, fired the 37-year-old after his team’s excellent 6-1 victory against Switzerland in the World Cup’s round of 16.
Goncalo Ramos, who took his place, scored a remarkable hat-trick to propel Portugal into the World Cup quarterfinals, supporting Santos’ choice to bench the team’s best player.
The former Manchester United forward is reportedly still stirring up trouble in Qatar by skipping workouts with the Portuguese subs.
Despite playing fewer than 20 minutes against Switzerland as a substitute, the Spanish newspaper claims that Ronaldo went for a low-intensity gym session with the starters.
Several images showing the team practicing at their camp in Qatar were later posted on Instagram by Portugal. It offers replacements Rafael Leao, Ruben Neves, and Joao Mario working with the ball. Later, Ronaldo is seen on the grass working out separately with a resistance band while wearing trainers. Another player working out in the gym was Antonio Silva, an unused substitute.
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The Portugal team was reportedly “surprised” not to see Ronaldo among the substitutes on the field, despite the player’s admission that he felt OK and was in excellent shape to practice.
Ronaldo’s streak of 31 games that he started in important competitions was broken by Santos’ decision to bench the superstar.
Since the Euro 2008 tournament coincidentally featured a match against the Swiss, the Portuguese forward had not come off the bench to start an international game in a significant competition.
After witnessing 74 minutes of soccer versus Switzerland without the striker on the field, Ronaldo’s girlfriend, Georgina Rodriguez, joined him in his rage.
Tuesday’s match in the round of 16 left Rodriguez angry, and she vented her annoyance on social media.
What a shame we weren’t able to watch the best player in the world for 90 minutes, she lamented. Fans are still claiming you and calling out your name.
On Saturday, Portugal will play Morocco in the quarterfinals after the African country shockingly eliminated Spain on penalties in the previous round.
‘Well, what occurred at United, the allegation was, it was because [Erik] Ten Hag was trying to make a move on him, he’s trying to establish his dominance,’ he said to ITV before the game. Cristiano Ronaldo and this manager [Santos] have had an extraordinary relationship for eight years. And many of Cristiano Ronaldo’s supporters are reluctant to tell him the truth. It’s becoming a bit of a scruffy end, and I think he needs to hear the reality. The sulking, stomping, and petulance need to cease because it doesn’t speak well of him at all.
