Ronaldo’s Saudi Arabia rumours were briefly responded to by himself. The reports were that he will sign a particularly lucrative contract in Saudi Arabia after Portugal’s victory over Switzerland on Tuesday. To his dismay, the 37-year-old attacker only participated for fifteen minutes in the eighth final.
Earlier this week, Spanish newspaper Marca reported that Ronaldo had reached an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr. The currently clubless striker would enter into a contract until mid-2025 and earn 200 million euros annually. Ronaldo, who recently left Manchester United, would become the world’s highest-paid athlete.
“No, it’s not true,” Ronaldo responded curtly when asked about the possible record deal with Al-Nassr after Portugal’s victory. At the Lusail Iconic Stadium, the 195-time international did not want to elaborate on his future.
Ronaldo started on the bench against Switzerland after being substituted on in the group game against South Korea, expressing his dissatisfaction to national coach Fernando Santos. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner saw his replacement Gonçalo Ramos score three times and quickly disappeared from the field after the game while his compatriots were still celebrating with the Portuguese fans. Santos said afterwards that he had no problems with Ronaldo.
Fernando Santos claims there are no problems with Cristiano Ronaldo, who had to start on the bench before the match against Switzerland on Tuesday. The Portuguese national coach said after the 6-1 win that Ronaldo had shown understanding for the decision and spoke highly of his captain.
Ronaldo was still a starting lineup player for Portugal during the group stage, but was taken off after more than an hour in the last group match. He reacted sulkingly to that and that went down the wrong way with Santos. On Tuesday, Portugal started without Ronaldo in the eighth final match against Switzerland. But Santos denies that there was a penalty.
“Gonçalo Ramos and Ronaldo are two different types of strikers,” Santos explained. “I thought it suited the game better. João Cancelo also had to make way for Diogo Dalot. It all has to do with how I felt about this match. Is there a problem with Ronaldo? I have already answered that question: there are no problems, we have been friends for years. We talked about this before the game and he had no problem with my decision. He has set the example of a real captain.”
