Ronaldo won’t play in Portugal’s friendly

Before Portugal’s final friendly before the World Cup in Qatar, Fernando Santos addressed the media, and Cristiano Ronaldo was the center of attention.

Ronaldo will not play against Nigeria on Thursday due to gastroenteritis, according to Santos, as Portugal gets ready for their World Cup debut on November 24 against Ghana.

The five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or is having a challenging campaign and appears ready to leave Manchester United.

In 16 games this season for the Premier League club, Ronaldo has scored three goals. His last Seleçao goals came in the 4-0 Nations League victory over Switzerland in July, when he scored twice.

Regarding Ronaldo’s conversation with Piers Morgan

Santos emphasized that he respects Ronaldo’s decision to participate in the interview with Piers Morgan, which he described as “personal,” before stating that “we only talk about Qatar here.”

“What does this have to do with the national team? He [Ronaldo] didn’t have to speak or inform the Federation. What impact will this have on the national team? What he does here [with Portugal] is what interests me. And we only discuss Qatar here. We respect his decision because it is his. It demands our respect. We are not at all impacted,” Santos said.