When he received the all-time top-scorer award at the annual Portuguese football federation gala last September, he took the opportunity to announce that he wanted to play in this month's World Cup and at the 2024 Euros.
On the same night, Ricardinho was also called to the stage to be honored.
He acknowledged in his speech that he had made the right decision by quitting the national team. The cameras caught his reaction when he heard those words.
It felt like he had made a dig at the man. The next day, he was forced to clarify that he wasn't talking aboutRonaldo.
Described as 'bigger than the Catholic church' back home, 37-year-oldRonaldo, who was named in Portugal's World Cup squad on Thursday, has never had his untouchable status questioned as much as he has on the way toQatar.
A Bola, the country's most traditional sports paper, debated his loss of influence on the pitch in a recent issue.
According to a TV analyst, the reason thatRonaldo starts most of the games is because he decides how long he lasts.
It has been a topic of discussion for a long time but always seemed to be taboo. It is no longer.
The change followed episodes which included leaving for holiday earlier than the rest of the squad, throwing the captain's armband on the floor more than once and rarely speaking after failure. Even though he was the leader and had his right-hand man in the dressing room, the latter happened.
For the first time in his career,Ronaldo is going to the World Cup with doubts over his place in the team.
The Portuguese federation has never admitted to having any special treatment for him. Antonio Tadeia is a pundit for RTP who has covered Portugal since 1992.
"Obviously, I'm not defending that, and you've got stuff in the daily work that even the biggest stars have to do." It wouldn't be normal for a 39-year-old to train the same way a 20-year-old does, and it wouldn't be normal for a 37 year-old to train the same way a 40-year-old does.
It didn't sound right that after the 2020 Euros exit,Santos said that he had the support of CR7 as if it were necessary for him to continue on his post.
Maybe it was a slip of the tongue or something like that. We can't say for certain.
In his past nine games for Portugal,Ronaldo has failed to score in eight of them, but he has never been in danger of losing his starting spot.
Being the country's greatest-ever player makes it more difficult forSantos to deal with the situation.
Tadeia believes that most of the Portuguese fans still think that he is the best player in the world.
People think he plays a bit like he wants. He left the box if he wanted to. He plays wide open. He starts if he wants to. He stays on the bench if he wants to take a break. Even though it's best to replace him, he stays on the pitch.
Because of all this, these fans have developed a perception that Fernando is in the hands of a man who wants him to do something.
I still think he can be useful, but it would be better to use him in a different way because he no longer has the same strength. There is a question of whether he would be able to comprehend it.
He's always been referred to as the world's best player by his teammates in every single press conference.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is playing in the World Cup for the fifth time.
He is the top scorer in men's international football with 117 goals and is Europe's most-capped male player.
The way in which Portuguese football is viewed abroad has changed due to his work. His reputation will only get better when he returns home with the trophy.
"Portugal had never won a title in senior football, so he has raised the bar for future generations and shown them that achieving this is not just a dream, but something they can all do."
His main legacy will be this one.
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