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Portugal, Cristiano and the noise

2022-11-24T11:29:35.207Z


The noise around the tribulations of its star turns off the echo of the premiere of one of the greats in Europe, in which the contribution of the former Manchester United player is also debated


Everything seems excessive around Cristiano Ronaldo, so much so that it even seems that Portugal's debut in the World Cup is dwarfed by the tribulations of his star, released from his contract with Manchester United and who is being debated about his next, and unknown, destiny.

Behind it lies the discussion about his current football contribution, with three goals so far this season and a decreasing weight in the national team: Cristiano barely scored in one of the last nine games he played with Portugal, eight of them against complete.

In the last friendly before the trip to Qatar, the team thrashed Nigeria (4-0), with Ronaldo everywhere except on the pitch.

He watched the game from the stands while the second part of the interview that triggered his departure from Manchester was broadcast on television.

But no one can imagine that Fernando Santos, the Portuguese national team, will score a Ten Hag and keep the author of 117 goals in 191 games with the Portuguese team in reserve.

Sometimes history has more ballast than the present.

“Against Nigeria we played with joy, dynamics and grit.

We were unpredictable and at the same time we had a great ability to reorganize ourselves in the reaction after losing the ball ”, assesses Santos, much criticized after the last fiasco against Spain in the League of Nations.

The question is how Cristiano can be integrated into that sudoku game.

Last night on the BBC's broadcast of the match between France and Australia, Gary Lineker took advantage of a brief half-time debate to joke with Vincent Kompany, Manchester City glory who now coaches Burnley, about the possibility of signing Cristiano Ronaldo.

"We need players who can run...", replied the Belgian.

In a high-pressure football, when the goal stops accompanying, problems accumulate for forwards with little effort.

"Ronaldo?

I don't know if he affects Portugal and I don't want to know either, ”clears Otto Addo, the Ghanaian coach, who continues to dribble as in his extreme times in Dortmund or Hannover.

Nor does Santos offer many clues.

“We are not uncomfortable because he is talked about.

We are focused on the game and his issues are not even a topic of conversation in the concentration, ”he assures before covering himself up a bit:“ I also don't know if the boys talk about it when they are in their rooms ”.

However, the fact that on the eve of the match against Ghana Bruno Fernandes comes to the fore at the official FIFA press conference does not help the noise to fade either.

About Cristiano's former teammate at United, a strained relationship was noticed after the veteran striker did not point him out among a short list of footballers on the team whom he identified as exemplary.

“Cris did not talk to me about the decision.

Here we are all looking at the World Cup.

For me it is an honor to play alongside him in the national team and to have done it in my club was a dream.

But nothing lasts forever.

It was nice while it lasted, ”explained Fernándes after the last training session prior to the World Cup debut, in which he slipped a theory about the noise generated by having a star on the team.

In the midst of so much din, the English federation sanctioned CR with a two-game suspension for "improper conduct" for an episode that took place last April at Goodison Park when the Portuguese threw the player's phone on the ground when he retired to the locker room. a young Everton fan who was taking a photo of him and tore it up.

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Source: elparis

All sports articles on 2022-11-24

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