DOHA ā Cristiano Ronaldo did not threaten to leave the World Cup after being dropped from the starting lineup to play Switzerland in the round of 16, Portugal coach Fernando Santos said Friday.
Santos did acknowledge his star player was ānot happyā to be told he was not in the starting lineup in a private meeting on Tuesday after lunch, hours before the game.
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Ronaldoās replacement GonƧalo Ramos scored three goals in 6-1 win. The all-time leading scorer for Portugal came off the bench in the 74th minute.
āCristiano obviously was not very happy about it. He told me āDo you really think itās a good idea?āā Santos said one day before facing Morocco in the quarterfinals.
āHe has never told me that he wanted to leave the national team,ā Santos said in translated comments, dismissing reports in Portuguese media. āIt is time we stopped with this conversation and the controversies. He celebrated all the goals that we scored."
āIt is time for you to leave Ronaldo alone in acknowledgement of what he did for Portuguese football,ā the coach said.
Santos declined to say if he would change the team and restore Ronaldo to face Morocco.
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