Cristiano Ronaldo: Portugal head coach Fernando Santos wants people to leave his captain alone | Football News

Portugal head coach Fernando Santos says “it’s high time to leave” Cristiano Ronaldo alone.

Santos benched Ronaldo for Portugal’s last-16 tie against Switzerland, a move which caused controversy but ultimately produced the team’s best performance of the tournament as they romped to a 6-1 win, with his replacement Goncalo Ramos becoming the first player to score a hat-trick at this year’s World Cup.

Ronaldo has continued to dominate the headlines in the aftermath of his axing and was forced to deny a report which claimed he had threatened to leave Qatar in an exchange with his head coach.

Santos has sought to clarify the situation with Ronaldo himself ahead of Saturday’s quarter-final against Morocco and leapt to the defence of Portugal’s all-time record scorer.

“I think it’s high time to leave Ronaldo alone, ” said Santos.

“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.”

Explaining how he broke the news that Ronaldo would be dropped, Santos said: “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 deny Ronaldo threatened to quit World Cup

The Portuguese FA on Thursday had denied a report that claimed Ronaldo threatened to leave the World Cup.

Record, a Portuguese publication, reported that Ronaldo told his coach he might leave Qatar after finding out he would be benched for the last-16 encounter against Switzerland – which Portugal won 6-1 – before calming down and realising his departure could negatively impact the team.

But the Portugal Football Federation rejected this version of events in a statement which defended Ronaldo’s legacy and dedication to the team.

The statement read: “News released this Thursday reports that Cristiano Ronaldo threatened to leave the national team during a conversation with Fernando Santos, national coach.

“The FPF clarifies that at no time did the captain of the national team, Cristiano Ronaldo, threaten to leave the national team during the internship in Qatar.”

Ronaldo: Portugal too close to be broken by outside forces

Ronaldo took to social media to respond to reports he threatened to leave the World Cup, reiterating outside forces would not derail Portugal.

“A group too close to be broken by outside forces,” he wrote on Twitter. “A nation too brave to let itself be frightened by any adversary. A team in the truest sense of the word, which will fight for the dream until the end! Believe with us! Strength, Portugal!”