• Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • Lionel Messi
    • Cristiano Ronaldo
    • EA FC 25
    • Wrexham
  • Boxing
    • Tyson Fury
    • Anthony Joshua
    • Oleksandr Usyk
    • Mike Tyson
    • Jake Paul
    • Logan Paul
  • UFC
    • Dana White
    • Conor McGregor
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov
    • Jon Jones
    • Paddy Pimblett
    • Joe Rogan
  • Other Sport
    • Athletics
    • Formula 1
    • MMA
    • Motorsport
    • NBA
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Snooker
    • Wrestling
    • Tennis
    • Cricket
    • Golf
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Cristiano Ronaldo surprised Portugal camp by not training with fellow substitutes

Home> Football

Updated 19:42 7 Dec 2022 GMTPublished 18:29 7 Dec 2022 GMT

Cristiano Ronaldo surprised Portugal camp by not training with fellow substitutes

Ronaldo was relegated to the bench during Portugal's World Cup win over Switzerland but refused to join in training with the other subs.

Ryan Sidle

Ryan Sidle

Cristiano Ronaldo didn't train with Portugal's other substitutes on Wednesday, following their World Cup win over Switzerland the previous day.

There was surprise on Tuesday evening when Fernando Santos finally did what needed to be done and dropped Ronaldo from his starting lineup.

It certainly did cause surprise to see the national team line up in a World Cup knockout game without the five time Ballon d'Or winner.

Advert

That decision came following Santos revealing he wasn't happy with the forward's reaction to be subbed off against South Korea in the previous game.

Whether it was form or behaviour that ultimately led Santos to dropping the forward, who doesn't have a club after his previous bad behaviour, it certainly ended up being the correct decision.

The striker's replacement Goncalo Ramos enjoyed a World Cup debut to remember, as he bagged a hat-trick in the team's 6-1 thrashing of Switzerland.

Advert

Ronaldo didn't have to sit on the bench the entire game and actually agreed to be brought on as a substitute, which he wasn't keen on when at Manchester United, replacing Joao Felix in the 73rd minute, with his side already 5-1 ahead.

Having played just 17 minutes of the game, the 37-year-old would have been expected to train on Wednesday with the rest of the squad who didn't play, and fellow substitutes.

However, according to Marca, there was a surprise amongst the squad when he didn't appear at training, instead choosing to do gym work, along with those who started, despite not having an injury.

Ronaldo did gym work on Wednesday. Image: Alamy
Ronaldo did gym work on Wednesday. Image: Alamy

Advert

Ronaldo had started in the previous 31 fixtures for his national team in major tournaments, stretching back to the Euro 2008 game against Switzerland.

On that occasion, things hadn't gone as well for Portugal, who lost 2-0 in the group stages but had already gone through after winning their first two games.

This time the decision would have been seen as much more controversial but there was large support for dropping him in the Portuguese press ahead of the game.

Santos had hinted that the captaincy, and even a starting place in the team, were going to be taken away from the all time leading goalscorer in men's international football.

Advert

Pepe puts the captain's armband on Ronaldo as he comes on. Image: Alamy
Pepe puts the captain's armband on Ronaldo as he comes on. Image: Alamy

The former United striker became the first man to score in five World Cups in-a-row, when he scored from a controversial penalty vs Ghana.

But he hasn't been able to find the back of the net since and the team seemed to play better without his presence on Tuesday night.

Despite the fact that the team scored six goals without him, Ronaldo's partner Georgina Rodriguez was not happy with the decision, taking to social media to say, "What a shame not to have been able to enjoy the best player in the world for 90 minutes."

Advert

His side next face Morocco in the quarter finals and it's been claimed that the Euro 2016 winner has 'no chance' of getting back into the starting line up for that game.

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Football, Football World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal

Ryan Sidle
Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

X

@Sidler28

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

an hour ago
11 hours ago
13 hours ago
15 hours ago
  • an hour ago

    Enzo Maresca left speechless after journalist hits back at him during press conference

    The Chelsea head coach spoke in a press conference ahead of his side's Club World Cup semi-final against Fluminense this evening.

    Football
  • 11 hours ago

    FIFA told to take immediate action after PSG fans discover who will referee their Club World Cup semi-final vs Real Madrid

    A controversial referee will take charge of Wednesday's semi-final clash between Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.

    Football
  • 13 hours ago

    Liverpool set price tag for Luis Diaz amid Barcelona and Bayern Munich rumours and it looks like a typo

    Liverpool have named their price for Luis Diaz, who is wanted by Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

    Football
  • 15 hours ago

    Non-league club give two-word response after Andy Carroll linked with sensational return to football

    Andy Carroll has been in France for the best two seasons but rumours have been swirling about a return to English football.

    Football
  • Cristiano Ronaldo's sister explains why Portugal star did not attend Diogo Jota's funeral
  • Cristiano Ronaldo 'breaks down' after scoring history-making Portugal goal against Croatia
  • Scottish commentator destroys Cristiano Ronaldo with two savage digs live on air during Scotland vs Portugal
  • Man Utd star set to join Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr with deal 'close'