Cristiano Ronaldo — winner of five Champions Leagues, five Ballon d’Ors and scorer of a staggering 800+ career goals — now finds himself in uncharted territory.
A free agent since leaving Manchester United last month when his contract was terminated by mutual agreement, he was dropped by Portugal for Tuesday’s World Cup round-of-16 tie against Switzerland, only for replacement Goncalo Ramos to score a hat trick in a 6-1 win.
Coach Fernando Santos claimed the selection was based on “strategy,” rather than Ronaldo’s angry reaction to being substituted in Portugal’s final group game against South Korea, although Santos had previously said of his captain’s outburst: “I didn’t like it. Didn’t like it at all.”
