Cristiano Ronaldo’s clan hits out at Portugal World Cup ‘humiliation’

Robin Bairner

• 7 Dec 2022 11:32 GMT
• 5 min read

Cristiano Ronaldo was picked among Portugal’s substitutes for the country’s 6-1 World Cup victory over Switzerland on Tuesday – and those close to him reacted by claiming that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was being “humiliated”.

It was the first time that Ronaldo, who is a free agent after leaving Manchester United by mutual consent in November, had been left out of the starting XI for Portugal at a major tournament since 2008, but the decision of head coach Fernando Santos was justified as Ronaldo’s replacement Goncalo Ramos slammed a brilliant hat-trick in an easy victory.

Those close to Ronaldo, though, are not impressed by the manner in which Santos has treated the striker, whose angry reaction to being replaced in the final group stage match fuelled the coach’s decision to leave him out of the starting XI.

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“What a pity not to have been able to enjoy the best player in the world for 90 minutes,” partner Georgina Rodriguez stated on Instagram. “The fans kept calling for you and shouting your name.”

Furthermore, Elma Aveiro, Cristiano’s sister, wrote: “Yes Ronaldo is not eternal, yes Ronaldo won’t play forever, unfortunately he doesn’t score goals now, he’s old, Portugal doesn’t need Ronaldo [clapping emojis]. We talked about what we heard, all that he did isn’t important, all that he did was forgotten.

“Now they ask for forgiveness and they don’t need him. I will register that and later we’ll talk. Rui Santos, what will he apologise for? Now we can f*** who we want. It is a shame to humiliate a man who has given so much.”

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Fernando Santos on Ronaldo

Fernando Santos, meanwhile, was measured in his response to the criticism.

When asked about benching Ronaldo after the match, he said: “I’ve a very close relationship with him. I've known him since he was 19 and we've developed a strong relationship. The human aspect has never been misunderstood. I'm a coach, he's a player, he knows what to do during the match. For me, he is a very important player in the national team.”

Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s response to being benched by Portugal has echoes of his reaction when he was left among the Manchester United substitutes earlier this season – something that ultimately saw him quit the Old Trafford club.