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Tag: Santos

  • Ronaldo leads 10 Portugal players shunning Santos after sack

    Ronaldo leads 10 Portugal players shunning Santos after sack

    Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo is among ten Portugal players who have not publicly responded after the dismissal of manager Fernando Santos.

    Santos was axed following their dismal World Cup exit at the hands of Morocco in the quarter-finals.

    Santos was sacked on Thursday following their 1-0 defeat to the North African side to cap off a tension-filled tournament dominated by Ronaldo, who did not seen eye-to-eye with his coach in Qatar amid issues with his behaviour – before he was dropped for the knockout games against Switzerland and Morocco.

    Now Portuguese outlets Record and A Bola have documented the divide among the squad – with ten stars failing to acknowledge Santos following his sacking, despite leading the team to Euro 2016 glory – as well as the Nations League in 2018-19.

    The other players who have followed Ronaldo in staying silent are Joao Cancelo – who has also had an uneasy relationship with Santos – Diogo Costa, Jose Sa, Diogo Dalot, Antonio Silva, Joao Palhinha, Ruben Neves, Ricardo Horta, and Rafael Leao.

  • Why Ronaldo won’t play again for Portugal – Ex-Man Utd defender

    Why Ronaldo won’t play again for Portugal – Ex-Man Utd defender

    Former Manchester United defender Paul McGrath believes Cristiano Ronaldo has played his last game for Portugal.

    After Portugal’s World Cup quarterfinal defeat to Morocco, McGrath wrote for the Sunday World: “Those who say that the top players don’t care about international football might change their mind on seeing Ronaldo’s tears as he walked down the tunnel last night.

    “He may have been earning half a million pounds a week at Manchester United, but those were the tears of a man who knew he had lost a last chance at winning something money cannot buy you: a World Cup winner’s medal.

    “Cristiano will be 41 by the time the next circus kicks off in North America in the summer, thankfully, of 2026.

    “He won’t be playing then. But would the great man be tempted to give it one last fling for the Euro 2024 Finals, only 18 months away?

    “He might and then he might not. First off, he has a Euro medal from six years ago, it was the World Cup one he wanted.

    “Secondly, Cristiano will certainly walk if Santos stays on as coach.

    “I’d say the relationship between the pair of them is broken beyond repair.

    “If a new boss were to come in and say to Cristiano, ‘Look, I want you to give it one more go under these conditions,’ yes, I think he’d be tempted.

    “But do Portugal need him? They have cracking young forwards in Goncalo Ramos, Joao Felix, and Rafael Leao.

    “Would the great Ronaldo, with all those goals, get in the way of their development, if he was still even a squad man with Portugal.

    “Probably. And that’s why a shock defeat to Morocco is likely to be the last we’ll ever see in international football of one of the greatest of them all.”

  • Qatar 2022: You can’t underestimate the best player’ – Ronaldo’s partner slams Santos

    Qatar 2022: You can’t underestimate the best player’ – Ronaldo’s partner slams Santos

    Cristiano Ronaldo’s partner Georgina Rodríguez has slammed Portugal’s coach for their shock World Cup defeat to Morocco on Saturday.

    Ronaldo came from the bench in their 1-0 defeat to Morocco in Qatar.

    The North African side became the first ever African nation to reach the semi-final stage of the FIFA World Cup.

    Ronaldo wept as he hurried down the tunnel after full-time of what is likely his last World Cup.

    Santos used the same starting XI that beat Switzerland 6-1 in the round of sixteen, meaning that the legendary Ronaldo began the game on the bench.

    “Today your friend and coach made the wrong decision,” Rodríguez posted on Instagram.

    “That friend for whom you have so many words of admiration and respect. The same one who, when putting you on the field, saw how everything changed, but it was too late.

    “You can’t underestimate the best player of the world, his most powerful weapon. Much less should one stand up for those who don’t deserve it.”

  • 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.”

  • Portugal coach: I’m ready to give Ronaldo advice about Juve

    Portugal coach: I’m ready to give Ronaldo advice about Juve

    Portugal coach Fernando Santos says he’s available to Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo if he needs advice about his future.

    Ronaldo’s future at Juventus has become the subject of intense speculation in recent weeks.

    “If he were to ask me for advice on his future, I would always be available,” Santos said. “I could certainly give it to him.

    “I know him very well, I have trained him since he was 18, I have a great relationship with him. We talk a lot, but the things we tell each other stay between us.

    “Cristiano has won everything at club level, after the European Championship in 2016, he only has to win the World Cup.”