Cristiano Ronaldo trained away with the rest of Portugal’s substitutes after their victory over Switzerland in the World Cup last 16 and instead joined his teammates who started the game, according to reports in Spain.
The 37-year-old was benched for Portugal’s first knockout tie in Qatar while his 21-year-old replacement, Benfica’s Goncalo Ramos, scored a hat-trick as Fernando Santos’ side ran out 6-1 winners over Switzerland.
Ronaldo was brought on as a substitute in the 73rd minute but was unable to to get on the scoresheet and after the full-time whistle, he quickly disappeared down the tunnel after briefly applauding Portugal’s fans.
On Wednesday, Portugal’s players took part in a light training session with the squad split into two groups as the substitutes, including Rafael Leao who scored Portugal’s sixth goal against Switzerland, worked with the ball on the pitch while the starting players were involved in recovery exercises in the gym.
But according to Marca, Ronaldo was not among the substitutes on the training pitch and instead he worked alongside Portugal’s starters off the field.
The report also claims that Ronaldo is not suffering from any injury, which would be a reason why he did not join his teammates out on the pitch on Wednesday.
When asked by the media after the game if he was happy, Ronaldo said: ‘Of course, of course. Portugal won.’
Speaking about Ronaldo’s situation after the win over Switzerland, Portugal head coach Fernando Santos said: ‘That is still something that has to be defined.
‘I have a very close relationship with him – I always have, I have known him since he was 19 years old.
‘This relationship only develops, Ronaldo and I never interpret the human aspect of that of manager and player [in relation to] what we have to do during the match.
‘I will always consider in my role that he is an important player to have in the team.’
When asked if Ronaldo would play against Morocco in the quarter final on Sunday, Santos replied: ‘Ronaldo will definitely [be involved], all the players on the bench can be used, if they are not in the starting line-up they can play later.
‘It is important to look at the example of this player’s history, he is one of the best players in the world at playing professionally, being captain – all we have to do is think about this team collectively.’
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