Why didn’t Cristiano Ronaldo start for Portugal in the World Cup round of 16 against Switzerland?

CRISTIANO RONALDO is one of the most famous players in football history and arguably the most famous person in the world.

He has scored eight goals in 20 World Cup appearances and holds the world record for international goals scored.

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Over 20 years his record was simply stunning.

It was therefore surprising that he was not in the Portuguese team in the World Cup round of 16 against Switzerland.

However, Fernando Santos’ decision to bench Ronaldo was fully confirmed – they won 6-1, with the striker coming on as a substitute with 17 minutes left in regular time.

He has previously started all three of Portugal’s group games at the World Cup and will face Morocco in the quarter-finals.

Why wasn’t Cristiano Ronaldo in the starting XI against Switzerland?

The Portuguese icon, 37, has been left out for their game against Switzerland.

Fernando Santos has opted for Benfica striker Goncalo Ramos (21) instead.

Incredibly, Ramos scored a stunning hat-trick for Portugal.

That meant Ronaldo found himself back on the bench, a place he was all too familiar with for Manchester United earlier this season.

That is before he and the club mutually agreed to tear up his contract.

Perhaps Santos was hedging his bets, knowing that it would have been more useful if Ronaldo came off the bench and scored a penalty if it went into overtime and a penalty shootout.

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