Because it was substitute Gonçalo Ramos who stole the show and scored three goals against Switzerland as Portugal easily progressed to the quarter-finals. Ronaldo was placed on the bench for the first time in a major tournament since 2008, coming on in the 74th minute. By then, Ramos had become the tournament’s first to score a hat trick in this year’s football World Cup. – It must stop now Ronaldo’s former teammate Gary Neville believes it says a lot that it is Portugal manager Fernando Santos who was behind the unexpected benching of Ronaldo in the round of 16. – When it happened at United, people suggested that it happened because Erik ten Hag wanted to make his mark and establish his authority. But this is a manager who has had an incredible relationship with Ronaldo for eight years. There are many fans of Ronaldo who cannot tell him the truth, but I think he needs to listen to the truth now, says Neville on ITV. He now sends a clear message to his old colleague: – The grumpiness, that he walks around hanging his head, the whining… It must stop now. It doesn’t put him in a good light at all. His long-term legacy is assured, he is one of the greatest ever, but in the short term he needs to do better. Was the Juventus manager wrong? Was the Manchester United manager wrong? And is the Portugal manager now wrong? There are now three pieces that have done the same, points out Neville. Gary Neville is not kind to Ronaldo. Photo: STRINGER – Ending his career in a bad way On Thursday, two of Portugal’s biggest newspapers, A Bola and Record, reported that the superstar was so upset after the crash in the last game that he wanted to leave Qatar. The Portuguese Football Federation subsequently issued a press release denying this, Ronaldo himself published a post on Instagram in which he indirectly hit back at the reports. – A group too united to be broken by external forces. A nation too brave to be daunted by any adversary. A team in the truest sense of the word, it says, among other things, in Ronaldo’s post. news’s football expert Åge Hareide believes the superstar has now put himself in a difficult situation. – He goes from being a respected and celebrated finisher who has won the Ballon d’Or many times to now ending his career in a very bad way, says Hareide. He believes Ronaldo will again be benched in the quarter-final against Morocco on Saturday. – The substitute did very well. That really says it all. It shows that the coach has chosen the right solution, he believes. HUGE INTEREST: The photographers were more interested in the bench where Ronaldo was than in the players who started against Switzerland. Photo: JOHN SIBLEY / Reuters Gary Neville’s ITV colleague and former Premier League top scorer Ian Wright thinks the whole Ronaldo situation is undignified. – This doesn’t end well, it ends abruptly, and it doesn’t seem like he’s enjoying himself at the moment. He doesn’t seem happy and it’s just a sad situation. When was the last time someone said “no” to him in his life? That’s how it feels to me, says Ian Wright. – The ego has become too big. Against Switzerland, Ronaldo suffered the same fate as he has had to experience repeatedly at Manchester United this season. No trust from the start from the team’s top manager. But this time it was the national team, from Fernando Santos, who has chosen Ronaldo as captain of the national team for a year. – He has seen the same as Ten Hag. The ego has become too big to perform on a team, says Hareide. Ronaldo was benched after being butchered by his own coach following his behavior against South Korea. Then he clearly showed displeasure at being replaced after just over an hour of playing. – Leaving games early like he did at Manchester United twice, how he stomped off against South Korea when team-mates like Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes didn’t even start… It’s gotten to the point where Ronaldo doesn’t accept his end of career in a good way, says Gary Neville. Sky Sports expert Jamie Carragher believes Ronaldo was benched for poor performances on the pitch and not for bad behaviour. Hareide thinks it is a mixture. – This applies both to performance in relation to work capacity and that he puts himself in front of the team all the time. The way he has acted on the pitch, I also think he has not acted collectively as well as he has done in the past, says the news expert. Need to think more about his teammates There has been a storm surrounding the Portuguese superstar in recent weeks. As mentioned, Ronaldo has struggled with his playing time at Manchester United and just before the World Cup he came out hard against his own club and said that he felt betrayed. Two weeks ago, Ronaldo finished at the club. Former team-mate Wayne Rooney called Ronaldo’s comments in the interview with Piers Morgan “strange”, while Rio Ferdinand and Roy Keane have been among former team-mates who have given Ronaldo support. – He is gone and that is part of the past. Now we look ahead and focus on the future, says United manager Erik ten Hag in a recent interview with MUTV. – I feel betrayed. Cristiano Ronaldo holds nothing back in the interview that sends shockwaves through the football world. Gary Neville has been almost as positive towards Ronaldo and both he and Rooney heard it in the much-discussed interview, where Ronaldo believed that they were exploiting his name to get more attention. – They are not my friends, Ronaldo said.
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