Why I benched Ronaldo in Qatar — Ex-Portugal boss Fernando Santos finally opens up

Former Portugal manager Fernando Santos explained that benching captain Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2022 FIFA World Cup knockout games was a 'tactical and technical decision.' 

Santos clarified that while Ronaldo was not pleased to be on the bench, the decision was made with a strategic approach. 

Ronaldo was sidelined during the win over South Korea in the Round of 16 and the defeat to Morocco in the quarterfinal.

Santos explained the incident at his unveiling as new Besiktas manager, Saying(via Goal): 

“It was a tactical and technical decision and there was no other situation. 

Strategic decisions are always the most important things for me. I had to make these decisions and I made them correctly. If we had not been eliminated from the World Cup, there would have been no problem.”

 “I told him that he was not going to start in the Round of 16. He was not happy with the conversation, as is normal. But I assure you that he never wanted to leave.”