Fernando Santos claims that the Portuguese national team will have to compete in the next two upcoming national team cycles without Cristiano Ronaldo.
After the not very successful 2018 World Cup, Ronaldo announced a break from the national team. It was thought that he would only miss the cycle happening in September, but now it is indicated that the break will last even longer.
So far, it is believed that Ronaldo is not returning to the national team in order to establish himself quickly within Juventus, but other news sources claim that the case of possible assault in Las Vegas from 2009 also contributed to this decision.
"First of all, I want to say that all players have my support," said F. Santos at a press conference.
"I believe in what the player publicly said himself - that assault is a heinous crime, and he himself is innocent. I know Cristiano very well and for these reasons, I believe in what he said.
Not inviting him to the national team was a consensus of all countries - both the player himself and all federations. We decided that Ronaldo will not be called up to the national team for the next two preparation cycles.
He certainly does not want to end his career. Ronaldo has repeated this several times and said that he can be called up to the national team anytime in the future," added F. Santos.
