Neville: 'Ronaldo was treated unfairly by coach Fernando Santos'
On the Sky Sports channel, the former Man Utd captain said that coach Santos made a mistake in using people in the 2022 World Cup, typically turning his back on Ronaldo. He said: "While Argentina still plays around with the number one star Messi, Ronaldo is left out. I was surprised that Santos did not do the same with him, especially when both were already there. worked together for a long time."
The situation between Santos and Ronaldo became tense after the last match against Korea in the group stage, when the former Man Utd striker expressed dissatisfaction at the time of being substituted. Santos then did not put Ronaldo in the starting line-up in the next match against Switzerland, but instead was the young talent Goncalo Ramos - who scored three goals and helped Portugal reach the eighth round of the strongest teams.
In the quarter-finals against Morocco, Ronaldo started the match on the bench again, but this time Portugal lost 0-1. Coach Santos was later fired by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), despite having led the Iberian peninsula team to Euro 2016 and the 2019 Nations League.
Ronaldo's girlfriend, Georgina Rodriguez, recently posted an article on social networks claiming that the 68-year-old military leader underestimated Ronaldo's influence when he did not start at the World Cup. According to A Bola, Ronaldo was one of nine players who remained silent and did not show gratitude after the departure of Santos.
"When you leave a player like Ronaldo out of the squad, it's a global issue," Neville added.
For the former England defender, Portugal's stop in the quarter-finals is not Ronaldo's failure. On the contrary, he thinks that the 37-year-old striker still proves his class when he can participate in the fifth World Cup in his career. "The image of Ronaldo entering the tunnel after the loss to Morocco really broke my heart," Neville said. "It was a not-so-beautiful moment to end his journey at the World Cup."
Ronaldo was terminated by Man Utd last month, following a controversial interview with MC Piers Morgan. Despite receiving many invitations with huge salaries from teams in the Middle East, the Portuguese superstar has not made an official decision about the next destination in his career.
