Cristiano Ronaldo without peace: two more controversies erupt

On social media, CR7’s behavior was not appreciated at all

Some say an era has closed, others argue that there may be other opportunities for his star to shine. One thing is certain: Cristiano Ronaldo’s benching in the match with Switzerland – his first in the national team since way back in 2008 – got people talking perhaps even more than the Lusitanians’ bombastic victory over the Helvetians.

The fact then that the player who took his place in the starting eleven – Gonçalo Ramos – scored a hat-trick, for many represented the ideal handover between the legend CR7 and the young Benfica striker. The day after the resounding exclusion, which sent social media into a tailspin throughout Tuesday evening, the Lusitanian champion finds no peace. In fact, a double case has broken out around the former Juve striker, concerning both his behavior at the final whistle of the match against Xhaka and his teammates and for what happened at the Portugal training camp in the aftermath of the triumph.

As his teammates approached the section reserved for Portuguese fans at Lusail Stadium, Cristiano Ronaldo made his way to the locker room without participating in the post-match thanksgiving. A frame rages on social media depicting the player near the tunnel entrance while the entire squad — starters and benchers — are intent on dancing and singing under the red-green curve.

The other reason for criticism, on the other hand, is very recent stuff: according to reports by the news outlet ‘Everardoherrera.com,’ CR7 on Wednesday morning did not train together with the players who subbed in against Switzerland (or did not enter at all) but instead trained in the gym with those who, the day before, played all or most of the match. According to the ‘malignants,’ and there are quite a few of them, this would stand for a sort of ‘refusal’ to be lumped in with the benchers, if not even a way to self-reintegrate himself into the starting group of the Portuguese Seleçao.