Portugal midfielder William Carvalho has insisted former Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo 'was always with the team' despite being benched at the World Cup.
Ronaldo started all three of Portugal's group games in Qatar but found the net just once from the penalty spot in their 3-2 win over Ghana. Despite finishing top of Group H, Ronaldo was dropped in place of young Benfica striker Goncalo Ramos for the knockout stages, a decision which ultimately paid off as he netted a hat-trick in a 5-1 demolition of Switzerland.
Portugal were then knocked out by Morocco in the quarter-finals but Ronaldo's diminished role at international level almost mirrored that of his final few months at United, which then led to his departure. However, speaking to newspaper A Bola, via Indian Express, Carvalho stated that while Ronaldo was obviously disappointed with being benched, he still remained supportive of the team from the bench.
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“It was a complicated situation," said Carvalho, who plays for Real Betis. "He was already having problems with Manchester United. He started playing in the national team, but then there was a game in which the manager didn’t put him on and it’s normal for Cristiano to have been upset. Any player would be; no one likes to sit on the bench.
“Cristiano Ronaldo was upset at having gone to the bench, but he was always with the team. Even though he wasn’t playing, he always helped us. The team knew how to separate the problems that Cristiano had and that didn’t affect anyone."
Ronaldo now plays for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia. The Portugal international left United last year after a controversial interview with Piers Morgan in which he criticised several elements of the club.
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