One normal day of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Portugal boss Fernando Santos has refused to confirm if Cristiano Ronaldo will captain the side against Switzerland after being left unimpressed by his recent behaviour.
Ronaldo reacted angrily after being substituted in the defeat to South Korea. While walking off the pitch, the 37-year-old put his finger to his lips and revealed that he had been rattled by comments made by opposition striker Cho Gue-sung, who asked him to speed up his exit.
“Before my substitution, one of their players was telling me to leave quickly. I told him to shut up, he has no authority, he doesn’t have to say anything.”
Santos was asked about his forward’s behaviour and said they he wasn’t happy with what he had seen, but that the matter had been dealt with internally.
“Have I seen the images? Yes, I didn’t like it, not at all. I didn’t like it. I really didn’t like it,” Santos explained.
“But from that moment onwards everything is finished regarding that issue. These matters are resolved behind closed doors. It’s resolved. Full stop on this matter and now everyone is focused on tomorrow’s match.”
Asked if Ronaldo would be dropped for the game, Santos said: “I only give the team in the stadium, in the locker room, it has always been like this.”
Portugal take on Switzerland in the round of 16 after finishing top of their group – despite the defeat to South Korea – and a win on Tuesday night will see them take on the winner of Morocco’s encounter with Spain.
Reports also recently suggested that Ronaldo was close to securing a move to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr but the self-proclaimed best friend of Ronaldo, Piers Morgan, was quick to play down those rumours.
