Fernando Santos, the former coach of the Portuguese national team, has revealed the reason why Cristiano Ronaldo was benched after the group stage at the 2022 World Cup.

 

Santos was recently appointed as the head coach of Turkish club Besiktas. During his unveiling, he was once again asked about the decision to bench superstar Ronaldo at the 2022 World Cup, where Portugal was eliminated after a 0-1 defeat to Morocco in the quarterfinals.

 

“Ronaldo played in the first three matches. After that, we decided to have him on the bench,” explained Santos. “It was a tactical decision and had a collective meaning. The coaching staff and I believed it was the best for the team. The decision was not based on personal reasons. If we hadn’t been eliminated, Ronaldo could have returned to the starting lineup in the following matches.”

Following the unsuccessful outcome at the 2022 World Cup, Santos was dismissed by the Portuguese Football Federation. Prior to that, the 69-year-old coach held the position for eight years and was believed to have a good relationship with Ronaldo.

 

Santos previously led Portugal to win the Euro 2016, the team’s only major title in history. He also guided Portugal to victory in the 2019 UEFA Nations League. Santos departs as the coach with the most matches and most wins in Portuguese history. Under Santos’ tenure, Portugal won 67 matches, drew 23, and lost 19 out of 109 matches.

 

After parting ways with Portugal, Santos took charge of Poland on January 23, 2023. However, on September 13, both parties went their separate ways after Poland’s 0-2 defeat to Albania in the Euro 2024 qualifiers. At that time, Santos had only been in charge for six matches.

On January 8, Besiktas announced Santos’ appointment. The 69-year-old coach’s task is to rebuild the Turkish club, which is currently performing below expectations. He becomes Besiktas’ fourth coach to sign a contract this season, following Senol Gunes, Burak Yilmaz, and Riza Calimbay.