Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo was irate as he was substituted off in his nation’s World Cup group stage defeat against South Korea on Friday.
Ronaldo became the first player to score in five different World Cups when he netted from the penalty spot against Ghana in his nation’s opening World Cup game.
The veteran forward then tried to claim he had score Portugal's first goal against Uruguay in their second group game but despite Portugal reportedly presenting evidence that the 37-year-old headed home a cross from Bruno Fernandes, it was confirmed that the ball had gone straight into the net.
The veteran has started in each of Portugal’s three group stage games but has been substituted off in all three, including the loss to South Korea. His role in Korea’s equaliser was called into question after he turned his back on the ball ahead of the goal.
Ronaldo was substituted off for Andre Silva in the 65 th minute of Friday’s match, with A Bola reporting that he could be heard shouting on camera towards the Portugal bench: "You're in such a hurry to take me off." It was at this juncture that he was comforted by teammate Pepe, who was still on the pitch.
Portugal boss Fernando Santos moved to clear up the incident after the game by clarifying that the superstar was actually responding to an opposition player, and not the Portugal bench: "Ronaldo came off the pitch angry, yes, but with the Korean player who was insulting him and sending him away from the pitch," Santos said. "He replied to him and that is perfectly normal.
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“I heard what the Korean player said, in English, and I have no doubt about it and Ronaldo replied ‘you must be in a big hurry for me to leave’. Pepe even went after the Korean player because of that.”
This version of events was confirmed by Portugal’s goalscorer Ricardo Horta, who said of the incident: "I think he ended up leaving the game unsatisfied because of the reaction of a player from Korea, nothing related to Portugal. He's already said it and it's not worth repeating: that he is happy and focused on the World Cup."
The Portuguese superstar ended his relationship with Manchester United by mutual consent last week, following his bombshell interview with Piers Morgan. He has switched fully to international mode and is aiming to break multiple different World Cup records.
