Cristiano Ronaldo’s girlfriend, Georgina Rodriguez, has made a sarcastic dig at Portugal boss Fernando Santos after he left her partner on the bench for the Last 16 clash with Switzerland.
The 37-year-old came on as a late substitute in his country’s 6-1 thrashing of Switzerland on Tuesday night, after the striker who replaced him in the starting XI, Goncalo Ramos, bagged a hat-trick. Santos left Ronaldo out of the starting XI after admitting he hadn’t liked his emotional reaction to being taken off in Portugal's final group game against South Korea days earlier.
And despite Ramos stealing the headlines on the pitch, Ronaldo’s 28-year-old model and influencer girlfriend made it clear the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was the only man that mattered for her.
Georgina, who cut a glamorous figure as she watched Portugal thrash Switzerland 6-1 from the stands, took to Instagram overnight to write: “Congratulations Portugal. While the 11 players sang the national anthem all the cameras were on you.
“What a shame we weren’t able to enjoy the best player in the world for 90 minutes. The crowd didn’t stop calling for you and shouting your name.”
Tuesday was the first time since 2008 that Ronaldo had been left on the bench for a major tournament. In a carefully-worded appraisal of the situation, which had a definite whiff of irony about it, Rodriguez said of the Portugal boss: “Hopefully God and your dear friend Fernando will continue holding hands and you can make us vibrate one more night.”
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Santos insisted after his side's dominant win that he considered the matter closed. But he did hint that Ronaldo may face a struggle to regain his place in the starting line-up following Ramos' man-of-the-match performance.
"That is still something that has to be defined. I have a very close relationship with him, I’ve known him since he was 19 at Sporting [Lisbon]. Ronaldo and I never misinterpret the human and personal aspect with that of manager and player," Santos said.
"I will always consider that he is a very important player to have in the team. [The matter] is something that is finished and solved. It is also important to look at this player’s history, he is one of the best players in the world.
"Therefore, all we have to do is come in collectively. We wanted a team that played with a lot of fluidity. Cristiano is more fixed, he stays in a more determined role towards the box. Goncalo has different characteristics.
"He is very dynamic and that’s what he ended up showing us. All the players who are with me can be used and if they are not in the starting XI they can play later."
Portugal will face Morocco in the quarter-finals on Saturday, looking to book a place in the semi-finals for the first time since the 2006 World Cup. Whether Ronaldo plays a part in that game remains to be seen.
