Bruno Fernandes, a former teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo’s at Manchester United, claims the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was dissatisfied with his benching for Portugal’s 6-1 victory over Switzerland.
The 37-year-old was not included in the starting lineup by head coach Fernando Santos for the 2022 World Cup match.
Ronaldo observed as Goncalo Ramos, who was filling in for him, scored a hat-trick against the Swiss to advance to the quarterfinals against Morocco.
“Do you think anyone likes to be on the bench?” Fernandes said.
“I don’t think Cristiano would be happy. If the manager put me on the bench in the next game, I would be angry.”
He added: “When Cristiano plays and the team loses, everyone talks. [He is] the most famous player in the world. No one is more famous than Cristiano in sports, not in football, in sports.”