Cristiano Ronaldo has come under fire from Portugal manager Fernando Santos after the forward looked to become irate after being replaced during Portugal’s most recent World Cup game in Qatar.
65 minutes into Portugal’s shocking 2-1 loss to South Korea in its final Group H matchup, Ronaldo was substituted by Santos.
The 37-year-old made a motion toward an opponent’s player as he exited the field, which, according to him subsequently, was not directed at Santos.
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Santos responded to a question regarding the incident during a press conference on Tuesday: “Do I possess the pictures? Yes, I absolutely disliked it. I did not enjoy it. I didn’t like it at all.”
But he claimed that a secret agreement had been reached to fix the issue.
“Full stop on this issue, and now everybody’s attention is on the game tomorrow,” he stated.
Santos criticized Ronaldo after the soccer star’s contract with Manchester United was ended amicably in late November.
Ronaldo was fired by United after he disparaged the team, its owners, and manager Erik ten Hag in a shocking interview with Piers Morgan.
When his young daughter was hospitalized in July, Ronaldo claimed United showed no “empathy” and that he didn’t “have respect” for Ten Hag.
Ronaldo is reportedly close to signing a contract to join Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr, according to MARCA.
The Portuguese international has been offered a two-and-a-half year contract worth $207 million annually by Al Nassr, according to a Spanish newspaper’s report last week. If accepted, he would become the highest paid athlete in the world.