Ronaldo and 10 Portuguese players message Fernando Santos. Fernando Santos hasn’t received a word from Cristiano Ronaldo or the other nine members of Portugal’s 2022 FIFA World Cup squad. The 37-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo entered the 2022 FIFA World Cup hoping to lift the cup. Portugal, however, was eliminated from the competition after falling to Morocco 1-0 in the quarterfinals. Santos has resigned as the Navigators’ head coach as a result of their World Cup exit. In the upcoming weeks, the national team is expected to announce the replacement for the 68-year-old.
After the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup, Santos took over as Portugal’s head coach instead of Paulo Bento. In the summer of 2016, he went on to guide the country to the UEFA European Champions triumph. The seasoned manager oversaw Portugal’s 2018–19 UEFA Nations League victory as well. But in both the European Championship in 2021 and the World Cup in 2018, the team was eliminated in the Round of 16.
Santos’ time with Portugal has come to an end as a result of their disappointment in Qatar this year. He allegedly commended the players for their efforts before stepping down after eight years as the team’s manager. However, not all athletes have demonstrated a desire to repay the favor, as reported by the Portuguese newspaper Record. Ten members of Santos’ FIFA World Cup team for 2022 have not yet formally thanked him.
One of them who hasn’t wished the former FC Porto boss yet is Cristiano Ronaldo. Diogo Costa, Joao Cancelo, Diogo Dalot, Rafael Leao, and Ruben Neves are further players on that list. Pepe, a seasoned defender, became the first of the other 16 players to thank Santos. Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva, among others, have followed suit, but Vitinha and Goncalo Ramos have only announced the news online.
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