Portugal coach Fernando Santos, who benched Cristiano Ronaldo for their Qatar World Cup 2022 clash against Switzerland on Tuesday, has opened up about his relationship with the legendary striker.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos shocked Cristiano Ronaldo fans on Tuesday by benching the legendary striker for their round of 16 clash against Switzerland at the Qatar World Cup 2022. Although Portugal registered an emphatic 6-1 victory to set up a quarter-final match against Morocco, supporters cannot help but wonder if all is well between Santos and the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.
Speaking after Portugal registered their best win in this World Cup campaign, Santos cleared the air stating that Ronaldo remains a very important player for the team. "I have a very close relationship with him. I coached him at Sporting [Lisbon] when he was 19, and we always had a very strong relationship," the Portugal coach said.
"This relationship does not change. Neither he nor I confused the human relationship with that of the coach and his player. From my perspective, Cristiano (Ronaldo) continues to be a very important player for the Portuguese team," Santos added.
The Portugal coach also claimed the decision to bench Ronaldo was entirely tactical, with his replacement Goncalo Ramos going on to bag a historic hat-trick. "What we want is this team's fluency. This game went very well. The team played very well, with movement, possession and confidence. They are very united, and everything worked well," he added.
Ronaldo looked disgruntled once more when arriving at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar for their round of 16 match after being hooked in Portugal's 2-1 loss to South Korea. Conversations about the 37-year-attitude old's problems are perennial, especially in light of his departure from Manchester United. Portugal has booked a date with Morocco in the quarter-finals. Santos now has a big decision to make regarding whether or not he should bring Ronaldo back into his starting XI.