Portuguese captain Cristiano Ronaldo has once again been left on the substitutes bench against Morocco for Portugal’s World Cup quarter-final clash with the north African nation, according to reports.
The 38-year-old forward was dropped to the bench in favour of Goncalo Ramos for Portugal’s round of 16 tie with Switzerland, a risky move that was rewarded in spades as his replacement Goncalo Ramos netted a hat-trick in a 6-1 win for Fernando Santos’ side.
“He’s the captain of our squad and with what he represents for Portuguese football, for the Portuguese people and the national team, naturally I needed to talk to him”, Santos explained after the game. “We met and I explained why he would not be one of the starters, so he would not be surprised.”
“Cristiano, for obvious reasons, was not very happy about it”, he added..”He has always been a starting player. “He said: ‘Do you really think it’s a good idea?’ But we had a normal conversation. I explained my viewpoints, he accepted.”
Now, however, it seems as though he will once again , with Portuguese outlets claiming that the striker will once again be dropped in favour of the impressive Ramos against Morocco.
It would have been somewhat harsh dropping Ramos from the starting XI, and with Morocco expected to sit deep against the Euro2016 winners, the Benfica man’s runs may prove more useful than the static Ronaldo.
*Note, it has since been confirmed that Ronaldo will start the game on the bench once again.
