Football News: Cristiano Ronaldo, unwanted by his club and country
Cristiano Ronaldo fell out with Manchester United, and the Portuguese immediately lost importance in the club. After departing from Old Trafford and concluding his second spell there, the veteran forward is seemingly looking at a similar fate in Portugal.
Cristiano Ronaldo - It is all proving to be a sad end to a long and glorious career.He sat on the sidelines as his team defeated Switzerland 6-1 on Tuesday to go to the World Cup quarter-finals. In place of Ronaldo, the talented young striker Goncalo Ramos scored a magnificent hat-trick.
Ronaldo had walked into the World Cup hoping to wash away the bitter aftertaste of a bad season at Old Trafford, where he was criticised under new manager Erik ten Hag.
The matter then escalated and reached public ears when Ronaldo openly criticised the club and the coach, initiating his inevitable departure. The 37-year-old took on Qatar with renewed hopes and scored the opener in Portugal's first match.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Fernando Santos on Cristiano Ronaldo: <br><br>"There is no problem with our captain. We've been friends for years. We spoke before the game and he had no issue with my decision. He’s an example." 👏🇵🇹 <a href="https://t.co/vzGNMXq8TQ">pic.twitter.com/vzGNMXq8TQ</a></p>— LiveScore (@livescore) <a href="https://twitter.com/livescore/status/1600252744870289431?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
It was a penalty in their 3-2 win against Ghana, which rendered him the first to score goals at five World Cups. However, he couldn't score in the matches against Uruguay and South Korea.
As a consequence, Portugal coach Fernando Santos, who inspired Portugal's victory at Euro 2016, decided to leave Ronaldo benched against the Swiss.
Portugal was flawless as Benfica's Ramos scored three goals in a comfortable attacking display. Unsurprisingly, the crowd in Lusail Stadium burst into pangs of cheer for Ronaldo.
Santos then sent him on the field with 15 minutes remaining for the match to end. Ronaldo launched a fine free-kick into the wall after entering, and shortly after, he landed the ball into the net, which unfortunately turned out to be offside.
Substitute Rafael Leao entered the picture and completed Ronaldo's task by netting a brilliant goal in stoppage time. The coach then divulged that he had complete faith in the players at Portugal's frontline.
Santos has more options in the frontline
Santos has been in charge since 2014 and is delighted at his team's fortune as they prepare for a quarter-final match against Morocco. He gushed about Andre Silva, stating he is a "great player who plays further forward."
He then spoke about Ronaldo's style calling him more "fixed" and his habit of lurking in a determined area towards the box. He admitted that he would use any of his three forwards, including Ramos, based on what's best for his strategy.
Santos said there is a possibility that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo could be a starter in Qatar in upcoming matches. However, the fact that Ronaldo, who has a record 118 goals in men's international football, will be benched for Saturday's quarter-final.
He is also reeling from being unwanted in Europe's top football leagues, and there is a rumour he might sign for a lucrative move to Saudi side Al-Nassr. It remains to be seen whether he turns his fate around in the upcoming match against Morocco and reclaims a spot in the starting lineup.