Cristiano Ronaldo has denied claims he wanted out of the World Cup following Portugal’s last-16 win over Switzerland, insisting the squad remain ‘united’.
With his club career up in the air before the start of the World Cup after an acrimonious exit from Manchester United, Ronaldo has struggled for form in Qatar as he bids to break Portugal’s all-time goalscoring record at the tournament. can be done
The 37-year-old has played fewer and fewer minutes with each passing game and was left out of the lineup entirely by coach Fernando Santos for the Switzerland game.
In Ronaldo’s absence, 21-year-old substitute Goncalo Ramos scored a hat-trick on his first international start, potentially making it difficult for Santos to return to their captain now as Portugal look to progress further into the rounds. doing.
Ronaldo was clearly disappointed to be substituted against South Korea, which both he and Santos later confirmed was due to an altercation with an opposing player and not coming on.
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Former Manchester United team-mate Bruno Fernandes recently defended Ronaldo, insisting any player would be unhappy to be left on the bench.
It was later claimed in the Portuguese press that Ronaldo had threatened to walk out of the World Cup, before he was persuaded to change his mind and stay. But a statement from the Portuguese Football Federation insisted that was never the case.
Ronaldo himself has now dismissed the speculation, declaring, “This group is so united that it cannot be broken by external forces. A nation brave enough to fear no enemy. This is a true team. , who will fight till the end for the dream.”