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Fernando Santos admits he told Cristiano Ronaldo ‘it’s better for our strategy if you don’t play’ before Portugal’s win over Switzerland… but now he wants calm as he plots a way to beat giant-killers Morocco
The first mention of Cristiano Ronaldo’s name had Fernando Santos chuckling, while Joao Félix received the initial hot potato.
Felix had no intention of giving the required response and his trainer smiled. A minute later, another question about you-know-who came in and Santos scrunched up his weather-beaten features, puffed out his cheeks and covered his eyes. Here was a man fed up with everything.
So when Santos finally got a chance to speak, he was presented with a list of points about Ronaldo that required clarification: Did he want to leave the camp? He had quarreled with his companions? What was his mood? – there was no containment.
Fernando Santos spoke about the moment he told Ronaldo he would be a substitute in his round of 16 game with Switzerland
Santos is trying to win a World Cup and Portugal is playing excellent football, so he didn’t want a relentless narrative to derail them ahead of what will be a riveting quarterfinal clash with Morocco. The time had come to draw a line.
“I had a conversation with Cristiano and it would have been bad if I hadn’t had that conversation with him,” Santos said, explaining how he told Ronaldo, who started this World Cup by breaking a record, that he was about to become a bit-part player.
‘Since I took the helm of the national team, we needed to have a closer relationship with the players. That’s my focus, to have a close relationship with them.
Ronaldo was not happy to start the game on the bench for Portugal, but came on in the second half
‘So, that conversation had to happen. I don’t do that with every player. But he is the captain.
“What he represents for Portuguese football, the people and his national team, naturally I needed to talk to him.” I spoke to him after lunch on game day, before the Switzerland game. I didn’t have any conversation before. I explained why he wasn’t going to play.
I did it so he wouldn’t be surprised. I invited him to my office and told him: ‘It’s better for our strategy if you don’t play.’ I said I would save it for the second half. Cristiano was not very happy with that. He has always been one of the starting players.
It’s unusual for a head coach to go into so much detail, particularly when the individual is as high-profile as Ronaldo, but Santos’s openness, coupled with his clear exasperation, enhanced his authority.
Continuing, Santos said: ‘He said, ‘Do you really think that’s a good idea?’ We had a conversation that explained my views. He never told me that he wanted to leave. So, it’s about time we stopped this conversation.
‘An example of what I just said is what he did in the match. He warmed up with the players. Even though he knew he wasn’t going to play. He celebrated all the goals we scored. In the end, it was he who invited his teammates to thank the fans.
Santos has now asked that Cristiano Ronaldo stay alone before the match against Morocco
Then came the parting shot, delivered with a look.
“It’s time for you to leave Ronaldo alone,” Santos demanded. ‘In recognition of what he has done for Portuguese football. Ninety percent of the questions are due to him.
That is due to the magnitude of his performance. What does it matter if I spoke to him before the game?
Inevitably, all eyes will be on Ronaldo tonight and Santos is fooling himself if he thinks he will avoid further investigation, especially if Portugal succumb to a Moroccan team invigorated by the idea of making history.
“We have analyzed Morocco and it will be difficult,” said Felix, the Atlético de Madrid striker. Anything can happen, but we will be ready to win. If Cristiano is not on the field, the team evolves. It’s not better or worse, it’s different.