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Cristiano Ronaldo has achieved plenty of accolades in his illustrious career, but one trophy has eluded him ever so heartbreakingly: a World Cup trophy. While Portugal may have gone through to the quarterfinals of this year's World Cup after a thorough 6-1 thrashing of Switzerland, the road to the final eight hasn't been the easiest, particularly with regards to their star forward.
Leading up to their Round of 16 clash, Ronaldo had an on-field spat with South Korean attacker Cho Gue-sung just as the Portuguese forward was getting substituted. That did not land CR7 in the good graces of his coach, Fernando Santos, who even thought of stripping Ronaldo of his captain due to the incident. Instead, Santos brought Ronaldo off the bench against Switzerland, ending a 31-game starting streak for the mercurial forward in his national team.
Naturally, rumors came out that Cristiano Ronaldo was none too pleased with Santos' decision. Some even wondered whether Ronaldo would bail on his team entirely following his demotion. However, Ronaldo cleared the air and reiterated his commitment to helping Portugal claim their first-ever World Cup triumph.
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“This group is too united to be broken by external forces. A nation too brave to be intimidated by any adversary,” Ronaldo said, per Fabrizio Romano. “This is a true team, that will fight for the dream until the end.”
A true team, Portugal indeed was, as Ronaldo's teammates came to his defense despite his standoffish behavior in the aftermath of his benching. Bruno Fernandes said that Ronaldo's frustrations with being relegated to a bench role is understandable, while Gonçalo Ramos, the man who scored a hat-trick after starting in CR7's place, said that Ronaldo did what a captain should do and that is help his team win, no matter the cost.
It remains to be seen whether Santos reinstates Cristiano Ronaldo back into the starting lineup or whether he goes with the man in form in Ramos during their quarterfinals clash against Morocco. Nevertheless, it seems like Ronaldo remains all-in, even if his reputation these days isn't the best given his unceremonious end in Manchester United.
