Cristiano Ronaldo said reports that he wanted to leave the Portuguese squad after being dropped in the World Cup round of 16 clash between Portugal and Switzerland were not true. Ronaldo claimed that outside forces were trying to dampen the spirit of Portugal as they aim to win their first World Cup title. Ronaldo was left out of the starting line-up against the Swiss, with his replacement Goncalo Ramos scoring a hat-trick in the 6-1 win, which set up a quarter-final tie against Morocco. However, the Portuguese sports newspaper, Record, then claimed that Ronaldo had threatened to fly home. Record said that Ronaldo, who is Portugal’s captain, had told Santos he might leave after being informed he was not starting against Switzerland before he calmed down and realised his departure could have a negative impact on the team. “A group too close to be broken by outside forces. A nation too brave to let itself be frightened by any adversary. A team in the truest sense of the word, which will fight for the dream until the end! Believe in us! Strength, Portugal!” Ronaldo wrote on his social media page.
The Portuguese federation also debunked the claim by the newspaper report: “News released this Thursday reports that Cristiano Ronaldo threatened to leave the national team during a conversation with Fernando Santos, national coach. “The FPF clarifies that at no time did the captain of the national team, Cristiano Ronaldo, threaten to leave the national team during the internship in Qatar. “Cristiano Ronaldo builds up a unique track record every day at the service of the national team and the country, which must be respected, and which attests to the unquestionable degree of commitment to the national team.”
