According to former Brazil defender Junior, Cristiano Ronaldo must realize that “time passes for everyone” and accept the possibility that he may no longer be a regular pick for Portugal.
After being included in the substitutes for Portugal’s 6-1 victory over Switzerland on Tuesday, free agent Ronaldo has lost favor with clubs and is now out of favor on the international stage.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is also without a club at the moment after mutually agreeing to end his contract with Manchester United, where he struggled to get playing time.
Goncalo Ramos, a young Benfica player who will take Ronaldo’s place for Saturday’s quarterfinal match against Morocco, scored a hat-trick against Switzerland.
Brazilian player Junior, who played in two World Cups and received 74 caps for his country, thinks Fernando Santos of Portugal should be commended for his bold selection.
Junior’s statement on Ronaldo
“You need to have the courage to put Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench and the coach did,” Junior said.
“And there was the answer he got – it was Goncalo Ramos scoring three goals. It’s not just for the goals, but for his collective behaviour, I’m talking about the game as a whole.
“Time passes for everyone. Naturally, Cristiano will understand this in the best way so that he can continue to have the great respect that the group has for him.
“He is the main player of the Portuguese national team for the last 10 years. Just look at everything the Portuguese team did before and after. But time passes for everyone.”
Portugal’s next opponents, Morocco, Argentina, the Netherlands, Brazil, Croatia, France, and England, will join them in the final eight of Qatar 2022.
Brazil, who have won the tournament five times in total and defeated South Korea 4-1 in the round of 16, are still the overwhelming favorites to snap their 20-year trophy drought.
Richarlison has arguably been Brazil’s best player thus far in Qatar, and with three goals, the Tottenham player is now tied for second place with Kylian Mbappe in the scoring charts.
With the exception of the defeat to Cameroon, in which Tite heavily rotated, he has been in charge of the line in three of Brazil’s four games. Junior has been impressed by the versatile forward.
“Richarlison rebuilt himself within the national team because he was a player who had much more visibility playing on the wings previously,” Junior said.
“When we see him playing the role of centre-forward, we see that he has recovered and is now in the starting line-up.
“On the sides of the pitch, it’d be difficult for him with Vinicius Junior, Raphinha and Neymar who also play there. So, he started to evolve exactly in that centre-forward position.
“The goal he scored with a volley in the first game is from a player who has great capacity and great resources when a situation like that presents itself.”
Tite has utilized his team to the fullest extent possible, using all 26 of his players already, which is the most players ever fielded by a team at one World Cup.
Junior claims that the decision by Brazil’s head coach to substitute third-choice goalkeeper Weverton against South Korea provides a glimpse into Tite’s character.
“As happened in 2006 with Rogerio Ceni, Tite has done the same with Weverton. He’s made sure he not only travels to the World Cup but is also on the pitch.
“This type of attitude strengths the group a lot. It’s one of Tite’s most important qualities: valuing the whole squad, including the third keeper, who rarely plays at a World Cup.”
