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Tag: portugal

  • It’s high time to leave Ronaldo alone – Portugal coach, Santos

    It’s high time to leave Ronaldo alone – Portugal coach, Santos

    Portugal coach Fernando Santos admits Cristiano Ronaldo was unhappy being dropped for victory over Switzerland.

    Ahead of their World Cup quarterfinal against Morocco on Saturday, Santos offered more details of his chat with the former Manchester United striker about his decision-making.

    He said, I think it’s high time to leave Ronaldo alone.

    “He has never told me that he wanted to leave our national team and I think it’s high time we stopped with this conversation, that we stop with the polemics.

    “I spoke to him after lunch on the day of the game and invited him into my office.

    “For obvious reasons Cristano was not very happy about it as he has always been the starting player. He told me: ‘Do you really think it’s a good idea?’ but we had a normal conversation in which I explained my viewpoints and of course he accepted them.

    “We had a frank and normal conversation.”

  • Manchester United legend, Gary Neville slams Cristiano Ronaldo

    Manchester United legend, Gary Neville slams Cristiano Ronaldo

    Manchester United legend, Gary Neville has fired shots at Cristiano Ronaldo and asked the Portugal captain to stop sulking.

    Neville slammed the 37-year-old for what he described as ‘petulant’ behaviour, warning the Saudi-bound footballer that his career is gradually coming to a scruffy end.

    This is coming after Ronaldo was dropped to the bench in Portugal’s 6-1 win over Switzerland in the round of 16 at the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

    Ronaldo only came on about 17 minutes to the end of Portugal’s World Cup round of 16 clash on Tuesday.

    It was the first first time since Euro 2008 that the former Juventus and Real Madrid man has not started in a major international tournament.

    Although manager, Fernando Santos said it was only a strategic approach to the game, the decision may not be unconnected with the 37-year-old’s fallout with the coach.

    Ronaldo had fallen out with Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag earlier this season. He also had issues at Juventus.

    On Tuesday, Neville provided a brutal assessment of his former Manchester United teammate on ITV. Neville said that when Ronaldo had issues with Erik ten Hag at Manchester United people suggested that the Dutch boss was trying to make a move on the superstar and was trying establish his authority.

    “This is a manager [Santos] who’s got an unbelievable relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo for eight years,” he said on ITV.

    The former Manchester United captain accused Ronaldo’s fans of failing to tell him the truth, insisting that the 37-year-old needs to listen to the truth, “that it’s becoming a little bit of a scruffy end” to his career.

    “The petulance, the stomping around, the sulking it’s got to stop because it doesn’t reflect well on him at all.”

    The former England international warned that the Portuguese has set for himself a long term legacy which he has protected as “one of the great all time players.

    “The Juventus manager wrong? The Manchester United manager wrong? And now is the Portugal manager wrong? There’s three of them that now have done the same thing with him,” Neville said.

  • Qatar 2022: Portugal coach speaks about relationship with Ronaldo

    Qatar 2022: Portugal coach speaks about relationship with Ronaldo

    Portugal gaffer, Fernando Santos has finally cleared the air about relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo concerning the Portugal national team.

    Santos spoke after sending the Five times Ballon d or winner to the bench in the round of 16 game where Switzerland were thumped by Portugal  6-1 on Tuesday.

    Santos chose to play Benfica striker, Goncalo Ramos, who ended up scoring three goals on the night.

    Ramos became the first player to score a hat-trick in the ongoing World Cup in Qatar.

    Ronaldo has not been able to add to his tally after his penalty goal against Ghana in the opening game.

    Speculation will now naturally turn to whether or not the 21-year-old Benfica man will retain his place in the side for the next game or will Ronaldo return despite his lack of form this season.

    Santos was asked about Ronaldo’s role within the team, and he told reporters, “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.

    “I will always consider in my role that he is an important player to have in the team.”

  • Portugal coach unhappy with Ronaldo: I don’t know what the lineup is against Switzerland

    Portugal coach unhappy with Ronaldo: I don’t know what the lineup is against Switzerland

    Portugal coach Fernando Santos refused to guarantee Cristiano Ronaldo will start against Switzerland in the World Cup round of 16.

    Santos was unhappy with the way Ronaldo reacted to being substituted against South Korea and has held clear-the-air talks with him.

    Ronaldo was taken off in the 65th minute of Portugal’s World Cup defeat by Korea last Friday and there were reports that he swore at Santos.

    The pair have now cleared the air ahead of Portugal’s last-16 match against Switzerland on Tuesday, with Santos saying the matter is “solved”.

    “Let me split my answer into two,” he said. “The first is when I went to the press conference, as you know, when the match had ended.

    “I had a flash interview, you were there, and then obviously I went straight to the press conference and what I said I’ll repeat it here again. There on the field, nothing happened, nothing. So I just heard him discussing with the players of Korea, I didn’t hear anything else.

    “Now the second part of your question, if I have seen the images? Yes. I didn’t like it. Not at all. I did not like it. I really didn’t like it.

    “And therefore from that moment onwards you have people, everything is finished, full stop regarding that issue. Now we have to think about tomorrow’s match and everyone is focused on tomorrow’s match. The topic is solved. We fix that at home and that’s it.”

    Ronaldo is currently a free agent and has been heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabia side Al Nassr, with some reports in Spain saying that a deal is now done. Santos insists it has not been a topic of discussion in the Portugal squad and will not distract their World Cup bid.

    “I haven’t spoken to him about this,” he said. “We had a conversation with the players, but I don’t really know about this.

    “To be honest I didn’t know about this. I just heard about this when I arrived here. Someone just told me that a few minutes ago.

    “But that’s his decision, that’s what he has to deal with, and we are totally focused here on the World Cup as a team. That’s what we spoke about and that’s our focus, and I don’t know anything about this other issue.”

    Santos also refused to confirm if Ronaldo will start against Switzerland tomorrow, saying: “I only decide who is going to be in the team when I reach the stadium. I don’t know what the lineup is.

    “That’s what I have always done and that’s what I am always going to do. It’s going to be the same tomorrow.”

  • Ronaldo denies swearing at Portugal coach over substitution

    Ronaldo denies swearing at Portugal coach over substitution

    Cristiano Ronaldo has denied he swore at Portugal coach Fernando Santos after being substituted during a dramatic 2-1 defeat to South Korea in the World Cup on Friday.

    Both teams had advanced into the next round with the result.

    But the Portugal captain said the comments he made as he left the field in the 65th minute were in fact aimed at a South Korean player.

    Portuguese media said the former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus player, who left the English club last month, appeared to challenge Santos over the decision to substitute him.

    It was reported he used vulgar language towards the coach.

    “What happened was before my substitution. The South Korea player told me to get off quickly. I told him to shut up as he doesn’t have that authority.

    “There was no disagreement (with the coach),” Ronaldo was quoted as saying by Portuguese reporters.

    The 37-year-old is seeking to equal the Portuguese record of most World Cup goals held by Eusebio, who racked up nine in 1966 in England, the only World Cup tournament he played in.

    Ronaldo last week became the first ever player to score in five World Cups.

    Santos, asked by reporters about the substitution incident, also said a South Korean player had been aggressive in his comments towards the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

    “I saw the interaction with the Korean player and I have no doubts about what happened,” Santos said.

    Ronaldo was kept largely at bay by South Korea’s defence in the Asians’ last-gasp victory over Portugal that sent Uruguay out of the World Cup.

    But he was involved in the South Korean equaliser in the 27th minute when a corner-kick struck him on the back and fell for Kim Young-gwon to score.

    Santos made six changes to the side that beat Uruguay on Monday.

    He was perhaps mindful of the risk of yellow card suspensions in the next round for which Portugal had already qualified before kick-off against South Korea.

    “We’re unhappy. We wanted to go through with a win, we wanted to go through playing good football to keep boosting our confidence,” Santos said.

    “We’re not going to lose confidence. This group has confidence, but it’s a warning, a serious warning. Perhaps some positive things could come from this game.”

    He congratulated Paulo Bento, his predecessor as Portugal’s manager who is now in charge of South Korea.

    “I’ve just given him a hug. I’m unhappy, he is happy. I didn’t facilitate anything but friends are friends, business aside,” he added.

    Portugal, by finishing top of Group H, have avoided Brazil —- the winners of Group G —- in the first knockout round.

  • Qatar 2022: Ghana crashes out, South Korea, Portugal qualify

    Qatar 2022: Ghana crashes out, South Korea, Portugal qualify

    The Black stars of Ghana become the second African side to crash out after Tunisia at the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

    After losing its first game against Portugal and winning 3-2 against South Korea, the Ghanaians today bowed out of the competition after losing 2-0 to Uruguay in the last group H encounter.

    The Black Stars won a penalty after Jordan Ayew cut in and shot from outside the box before his effort was parried away by Uruguay goalkeeper Sergio Rochet.

    In the 26th minute, Lawrence Ati-Zigi got his hand to a shot from Suarez, the rebound fell to  Giorgian De Arrascaeta who nodded in from a yard out to put Uruguay one goal up in the encounter.

    Few minutes later, De Arrascaeta with it again. Pellistri flicked it up to Nunez, nodded on to Suarez, looped up to De Arrascaeta on the left side of the box. With the ball dropping from the sky, he showed brilliant technique to volley it past Ati-Zigi for Uruguay’s second goal of the encounter.

    Both sides played out their hearts in the second half but scoring proved abortive and it ended Ghana 0 Uruguay 2.

    Meanwhile, South Korea did the unthinkable against Portugal after coming back from behind to seal a 2-1 win over the Selecao of Portugal.

    Ricardo Horta scored first for Portugal in the 5th minute before Kim Young-gwon equalized in the 27th minute and then Hwang Hee-Chan won at for South Korea at the death.

    South Korea take second place in the group behind Portugal, while Ghana and Uruguay both go out.

  • Just In: Cristiano Ronaldo close to signing with Saudi club

    Just In: Cristiano Ronaldo close to signing with Saudi club

    Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo is close to signing a contract with Saudi club Al-Nassr, according to media reports.

    The 37-year-old captain is set to reach an agreement on a two-and-a-half-year contract, the Spanish newspaper Marca reported on Wednesday.

    It said the total cost of the deal is around 200 million euros ($207 million) per season.

    Ronaldo has been without a club since leaving Manchester United last week following a TV interview where he heavily criticized the club.

  • Portugal vs Uruguay: Fernandes speaks on Ronaldo claiming his goal

    Portugal vs Uruguay: Fernandes speaks on Ronaldo claiming his goal

    Portugal playmaker, Bruno Fernandes has opened up after Cristiano Ronaldo attempted to claim his goal in their World Cup win over Uruguay, insisting the scorer of their first goal “doesn’t matter”.

    Fernandes was eventually credited with the goal after replays showed Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t get a touch.

    In the 54th minute of the match, Fernandes lofted in a delightful cross. At first, it seemed as if Ronaldo had headed the ball in.

    But the goal was officially awarded to his ex-Manchester United teammate.

    “It doesn’t matter who scores. Whether it’s me or Cristiano Ronaldo.

    “The important thing is to get out of the group. We are in the last 16,” Fernandes told reporters afterwards.

    Portugal have now qualified for the knockout stages of the 2022 World Cup after winning their first two group matches.

  • World Cup: Ronaldo takes Portugal teammates to own restaurant in Qatar

    World Cup: Ronaldo takes Portugal teammates to own restaurant in Qatar

    Cristiano Ronaldo has taken the Portugal squad out for dinner at his own restaurant in Doha, Qatar.

    The  37-year-old is available on a free transfer after United ripped up his contract before Portugal’s first World Cup group match against Ghana.

    To keep spirits high at the World Cup, according to El Espanol, Ronaldo took his team-mates out for dinner at the recently opened Tatel de Doha restaurant on Al Maha Island.

    Ronaldo, as well as tennis legend Rafael Nadal, are among partners at Mabel Hospitality, who own the restaurant.

    He is said to have picked up the bill and the Portugal team were all smiles as they posed for a group photo.

  • Why Cristiano Ronaldo likes to work under criticism – Fernandes

    Why Cristiano Ronaldo likes to work under criticism – Fernandes

    Manchester United and Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes has revealed Cristiano Ronaldo gets his best form for being criticised.

    Bruno admits he and Cristiano Ronaldo are roommates at the World Cup in Qatar.

    Ronaldo scored and Fernandes was outstanding in Portugal’s victory over Ghana last night.

    Asked about his now former United teammate, Fernandes said: “I think he likes to work under this kind of criticism, so I hope you keep doing it, because he gets the best out of himself.

    “I still share a room with him here on the national team, and the most important thing for me is that Portugal is doing as best we can in this tournament. Because if we do, Cristiano will be happy and then I will be happy and then everyone in Portugal will be happy with us.”