Cristiano Ronaldo breaks silence after being benched for Portugal’s World Cup thumping of Switzerland
CRISTIANO RONALDO has broken his silence after being benched for Portugal’s World Cup Last 16 tie against Switzerland.
Portugal boss Fernando Santos dropped Ronaldo to the bench for the crunch clash after previously slamming him for sulking when he was subbed off in the 2-1 defeat to South Korea.
However, Portugal bounced back in astonishing fashion by putting SIX past Switzerland as youngster Goncalo Ramos netted a hat-trick.
And following the result Ronaldo has broken his silence.
Taking to Instagram, he revelled in the team’s “incredible” win and shared a photo of him celebrating with the team.
He said: “Incredible day for Portugal, with a historic result in the biggest competition in world football.
“Luxury exhibition of a team full of talent and youth. Our Selection is to be congratulated.
“The dream is alive! Until the end! Strength, Portugal!”
Ronaldo was spotted walking off down the tunnel on his own as the rest of his team-mates celebrated their huge win.
The 37-year-old, who saw his contract at Manchester United terminated following a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan, has been offered the chance to play in Saudi Arabia.
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Al-Nassr are said to have offered Ronaldo the chance to become the best-paid sportsperson of all time with a contract worth £173million-per-year.
However, he has instead been urged to join the MLS due to the far larger audience they have.
Former USA star Alexi Lalas said: “It sounds like he’s going to make a boatload of money and go to Saudi Arabia and play.
“It kind of is out of sight and out of mind. I can’t remember the last time we heard about the Saudi Arabian league.
“For a guy that is so concerned about his brand, and certainly has more money than he can do with, it’s a strange type of thing for him to do.
“For 200 million dollars you’ll figure it out, but if the alternative is making less money and I get to go and play and live in Miami or Los Angeles…
“MLS can’t compete with that type of money, but what MLS can give him is a much bigger entrée into the American market – he’s already huge in America.
“For a guy that’s cultivated this brand over the years, that might have been more appealing.
“In the moment he might not have made the money, he might have also established his brand.
“I’m not saying we’re not going to hear from Cristiano Ronaldo or his brand can’t grow, but it’s sure as hell I would think not going to grow as much being in Saudi Arabia relative to the United States.
“We’ve seen it with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Beckham, Thierry Henry or Wayne Rooney. The moments they have from a MLS perspective do go viral, it’s not completely out of sight, out of mind.”