Cristiano Ronaldo was clearly unhappy after he was subbed midway through Portugal’s defeat to South Korea (AFP via Getty)
Fernando Santos admits he was unhappy with Cristiano Ronaldo’s conduct as he left the pitch during Portugal’s defeat to South Korea at the World Cup.
Ronaldo was replaced in the 65th minute with the game tied at 1-1, while South Korea went on to score an injury-time winner to secure their place in the last 16.
The 37-year-old reacted angrily to his substitution and held his finger to his lips, although he later claimed that he was reacting to South Korea striker Cho Gue-sung, who was ushering him off the pitch.
When asked about Ronaldo’s reaction ahead of Portugal’s last-16 match against Switzerland, Santos replied: ‘Have I seen the images? Yes, I didn’t like it, not at all. I didn’t like it. I really didn’t like it.
‘But from that moment onwards everything is finished regarding that issue.
‘These matters are resolved behind closed doors. It’s resolved. Full stop on this matter and now everyone is focused on tomorrow’s match.’
Fernando Santos admits he ‘didn’t like’ Cristiano Ronaldo’s reaction (AFP via Getty)
Santos also claimed he has not spoken to Ronaldo about his next move after his contract with Manchester United was terminated last month.
On Monday, reports in Spain claimed that Ronaldo has agreed a £432 million deal to join Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr on January 1.
More: Sport
‘I haven’t spoken to him about this. We had a conversation with the players but I didn’t even know about this,’ said Santos.
‘I just heard about this when I arrived here. That’s his decision, that’s what he has to deal with and we are very focused here on the World Cup and his team, and that we spoke about.’
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‘I didn’t like it. I really didn’t like it.’
