Pepe wrapped the captain’s armband on Ronaldo’s bicep before Ronaldo jogged onto the field. When he was finally sent onto the field in the 72nd, the crowd erupted. Ronaldo, wearing a yellow substitute bib in the dugout, was expressionless as the crowd called for him. The cheers then turned to boos directed at Santos for ignoring the pleas. The 39-year-old defender then scored Portugal’s second goal, with Ronaldo running off the bench to hug the veteran near one of the corners.īy the time Portugal had taken a 4-1 lead, the crowd at Lusail Stadium was loudly chanting “Ronaldo! Ronaldo!” for the star to enter the game. The match marked the first time Ronaldo didn’t lead his teammates onto the field as the captain in Qatar, with Pepe taking the armband. If the manager put me on the bench in the next game, I would be angry.” “Do you think anyone likes to be on the bench?” Fernandes said. No one is more famous than Cristiano in sports, not in football, in sports.” But when Fernandes was asked about Ramos’ reaction to getting the start, he defensively turned the question toward Ronaldo. “When Cristiano plays and the team loses, everyone talks.”įernandes called Ronaldo “the most famous player in the world. “I don’t think people should be talking about Cristiano and why he’s not playing, because when Cristiano plays and the team wins, no one talks about that,” Fernandes continued. “Cristiano is doing his job, he’s doing his part, he’s happy with the result because the goal for everyone is to go as far as possible.
“We won the first two games with Cristiano in the first 11, and it could be that if Cristiano played, he could score three goals and no one would be speaking about Cristiano being on the bench,” Fernandes said. Fernandes seemed prepared for the controversy surrounding Ronaldo and stood firm in defending him as a Portugal team representative tried multiple times to pull Fernandes away. Santos added goals in the 51st - a goal Ronaldo celebrated as he warmed up on the sidelines with the rest of the substitutes - and again in the 67th.īruno Fernandes, who also played with Ronaldo at Manchester United, was the only member of the Portugal squad to indicate Ronaldo wasn’t pleased with being benched. Ramos’ first career start for his national team came as Ronaldo’s replacement and he scored on just his fourth touch of the game in the 17th minute to give Portugal a 1-0 lead. Santos instead started Ramos, a little-known forward who made his international debut three weeks ago. I will always consider he is a very important player to have in the team.” “I think Ronaldo and I never misinterpret the human and personal aspect with that of manager and player, and what we need to do during the match,” the coach added. I have known him since he was 19 years old in sporting. “I have a very close relationship with (Ronaldo). I said that in my last press conference and I repeat myself: This is something which is finished, solved,” Santos said. Messi won the Ligue 1 title with Kylian Mbappe's PSG but the French league giants were dumped out of the UEFA Champions League by eventual champions Real Madrid in the Round of 16 phase.Santos said the decision was tactical and not disciplinary, but he’d acknowledged Monday he was bothered by Ronaldo’s poor attitude after he pulled him late in a 2-1 loss to South Korea in the final game of group play. Messi’s omission didn't come as a surprise to the football fraternity as the former Barcelona captain had a disastrous debut season with Paris Saint Germain (PSG).
Messi lifted his record seventh Ballon D’Or award at the Theatre du Chatelet in November last year. Ronaldo's former EL Clasico rival Messi was even omitted from the 30-man list.įor the first time since 2005, Messi has been overlooked by the Ballon d’Or jury for the prestigious award. For the first time in 16 years, neither Ronaldo nor Messi managed to secure a podium finish at the Ballon d'Or awards. The former Juventus and Real Madrid star has appeared in the 30-man Ballon d'Or shortlist every year since 2004. Ronaldo has bagged his lowest ranking in 17 years at the Ballon d'Or awards. Ronaldo was ranked 20th in the 30-man nominee list at the 2022 edition of the Ballon D’Or awards in Paris. ALSO READ: 'What a beautiful moment': Karim Benzema receives Ballon d'Or trophy from Real Madrid legend Zidane - Watch
0 kommentar(er)
