Portugal FA Releases Statement After Reports Of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Fight With Portugal Coach

The Portugal Football Association has reacted in a statement following reports that former Manchester United striker, Cristiano Ronaldo allegedly “threatened to leave the national team.”

The 37-year-old striker seemed to have been unhappy with Portugal’s coach, Fernando Santos, after being substituted in Portugal’s defeat to South Korea in their last Group H match, although, he claimed that he was offended by something an opponent had said to him while he was leaving the pitch.

After the match against South Korea, Santos revealed that he didn’t appreciate Ronaldo’s response to being taken off, with a Portuguese television station, ‘CMTV’ also claiming that the 37-year-old told the Portugal manager: “You’re in a f*cking hurry to take me off.”

Santos benched Cristiano Ronaldo for their round-of-16 game against Switzerland following the end of the group stage, and Goncalo Ramos, the striker’s replacement, scored three goals in a 6-1 victory on Tuesday, December 6.

After the game, a report from the Portuguese newspaper Record stated that Ronaldo allegedly had a fight with Santos and sought to quit the national team setup because he was so furious at being overlooked against Switzerland.

The Portugal Football Association has now issued a statement, debunking these claims, as the team prepares for Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup with Morocco.

The statement read: “News released on Thursday claims Cristiano Ronaldo threatened to leave the national team during a conversation with national coach Fernando Santos. The FPF wants to clarify that at no time did national team captain Cristiano Ronaldo threaten to leave the national team during the tournament in Qatar.

“Cristiano Ronaldo continues to build on his unique record of service to the national team, which should be respected and which attests to his unquestionable degree of commitment to the national team.”

The Portugal FA continued: “The national team – players, coaches and the FPF structure – are fully committed and enthusiastic, as has been the case since day one, to building what we hope will be Portugal’s best-ever World Cup.”