Ronaldo had a very close relationship with his former coach of the Portugal national team, Fernando Santos, but that relationship was broken at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar when the coach did not start the Portuguese against Morocco and then he Eliminated CR7 and his team.
At the time, the current Al Nasr player was the focus of cameras after he made an offensive gesture after leaving a match, with Santos telling the media: “I saw the images on TV and I didn’t like them at all. We will address it in the dressing room and that’s it.”
Fernando Santos on Cristiano Ronaldo’s replacement at World Cup 2022: “I would make the same decision, it’s strategic. First I have to think about the team. Strategically I think it’s the best decision .”
As you know, I discussed this with my technical team… pic.twitter.com/2LONJlJw3n
—Samuel Vargas (@SVargasOK) November 9, 2023
After Portugal’s elimination, Cristiano came out in tears and thought it was his last World Cup, with his partner Georgina Rodriguez writing on Instagram: “Your friend and your coach made the wrong decision today. You have a lot of admiration and respect for that friend and he saw everything change when you got into the game but it was too late.”
Now, Fernando Santos talks about the controversy for the first time and assures in an interview with Portuguese newspaper A Bola: “The morning of the game, when I went to explain to him that I wasn’t going to play and why I wasn’t going to play, he misunderstood me.” Then he said: “I understand his reaction. To me, the relationship is the same, he’s still like a son or a brother to me.”
The 69-year-old, who is not currently playing for a club, explained that Gonzalo Ramos performed well during the World Championship against Switzerland, which is why he decided to put him in the star position: “This game was so exciting, there’s no point in changing it for the next game.”,He said.
The relationship between Fernando Santos and Cristiano Ronaldo fell apart after the World Cup 💔 pic.twitter.com/K5vC1jQXj7
— Offside (@ESPN_FDJ) November 8, 2023
Finally, Santos mentioned the death of one of Ronaldo’s children, which was related to his career: “He spent a horrific six months in the second half of 2022, mentally and physically. “It all started with a tragedy that happened to him and his family, which none of us wanted to experience. “, he said. He later said: “That moment affected him a lot, he didn’t play in pre-season and he didn’t train for two months. He wasn’t in game rhythm.”