Cristiano Ronaldo once again sat out the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Morocco, but why has he been dropped?

Cristiano Ronaldo was again named on the bench for Portugal’s quarter-final against Morocco at the 2022 World Cup, having already missed out on the No. 1 spot in Switzerland’s 6-1 win in the last 16.

And his fears of a diminished role were heightened on Saturday when he was named among the substitutes for the last eight meetings at the Al Thumama Stadium. So can the former Real Madrid superstar accept his new role in the Portugal squad?

Let’s recap what has been Ronaldo’s drop amid hysterical reports that the striker was apparently threatening to leave his team. The reports have been debunked but not successfully dismissed from the relentless news cycle surrounding the star.

But first…

Why did Santos drop Ronaldo in the World Cup?

Putting his finger to his lips, the player claimed it was a misunderstanding and that he was actually just directing his anger at an opposition player, although many misunderstood this reasoning and interpreted it as his manager.

I didn’t like it, Santos said rather emphatically before the Switzerland game, later leaving his captain on the bench. Was it because of his reaction to being replaced? It’s not entirely clear, but it seems like a reasonable explanation.

Alternatively, Santos may have just made the decision for purely footballing reasons, sensing what many pundits and fans thought all along: that Portugal would be more energetic, vibrant and team-oriented without their star man in the starting line-up.

If this was the reason Santos just wanted to confine Ronaldo to the bench so other players could thrive in his absence, it certainly worked.

Speaking after the match, the 68-year-old was quick to play down any suggestions of a split with Ronaldo, saying: There is no problem with our captain. We’ve been friends for years. We talked before the game and he had no problem with my decision. He is an example.

Ramos, Ronaldo’s highly successful replacement, added of the man he usurped: “He’s the captain, he’s the leader and we always look forward to playing alongside him.

What about the ever-influential Pepe? “Ronaldo is happy and fully focused,” he said. “He knows that the most important thing is the national team.”

What has been Ronaldo’s drop in the World Cup?

After the match, reports appeared in the Portuguese press claiming that the 37-year-old was so unhappy with his exclusion that he was on the verge of quitting the tournament.

However, the FPF quickly moved to quash the proposal, insisting that Ronaldo remains committed to the team and its goals for the remainder of the competition.

“News published this Thursday state that Cristiano Ronaldo threatened to leave the national team during a discussion with national coach Fernando Santos,” the statement read.

“The FPF clarifies that national team captain Cristiano Ronaldo at no point threatened to leave the national team during training in Qatar.

Every day, Cristiano Ronaldo builds a unique record in the service of the national team and country, which must be respected and which proves an undeniable commitment to the national team.

On Friday, Santos and Joao Felix dismissed suggestions of a possible split within the team.

Santos told the media: “I think it is high time to leave Ronaldo alone. He has never told me that he wanted to leave our national team, and I think it is high time to stop this discussion, to stop the controversy. I spoke to him after lunch on the day of the game and invited him to my office.

“For obvious reasons, Cristiano wasn’t very happy about it because he’s always been a starting player. He said to me: Do you really think it’s a good idea? but we had a normal conversation where I explained my views and, of course, he accepted them. We had an open and normal discourse.”

Felix added: “I would like to leave a message to the Portuguese and the press. Portugal is in a tough competition. We haven’t reached the quarter-finals for a long time. We should all be closer to each other and not try to get away. The atmosphere is worse.”

What has been the reaction to Ronaldo’s behavior in the World Cup?

Everyone and everything else has weighed in with their thoughts on this heated debate, so we won’t dig up the last word from every last talking head, but here are a few choice words from select experts.

The nagging, the pushing around, the whining has got to stop because it doesn’t reflect well on him at all,” she said.

His long-term legacy is set, he’s protected, he’s one of the best players of all time, but in the short term he needs to do a lot better because the Juventus manager is wrong? Is the Manchester United manager wrong? And now, is the Portugal manager wrong? Three of them have now done the same with him.

With the likes of Felix – still only 23 – also impressing in Switzerland’s win, it led Ian Wright to speculate on Portugal’s prospects without Ronaldo.

“It’s a team that can easily go all the way,” former England striker Wright began on ITV Sport. “He [Ronaldo] could still really contribute to this team without having to do as much because this team can do it without him.

– They have proven it before in the European Championships [winning in 2016] and they have done it today. They were dynamic without him. If he just gets things right, he can still score the winning goal for them in the final.”

Roy Keanespoke to Sky Bet, semi-defended his former team-mate: “Should footballers be perfect? ​​Cristiano Ronaldo had that attitude 10 years ago but in the next game he scored a hat-trick and he was 27 – everyone says he makes teams worse – Juventus haven’t done anything after he left them a couple of years ago.

“Against Switzerland, the Portuguese manager made the right decision to replace Ronaldo with someone who offered more mobility up front. [Ramos] scores a hat trick and everyone looks straight at Ronaldo. I always thought there was a chance Ronaldo wouldn’t start a World Cup play-off at 37 for Portugal!