Ronaldo Fading Away Quickly – Fans React

Fans react as Cristiano Ronaldo, 37, watched the Selecao destroyed the Red Crosses at Lusail Stadium to advance to the round of eight.

African supporters claim that Cristiano Ronaldo is deteriorating after coming off the bench for Portugal in their 6-1 World Cup victory over Switzerland on Tuesday.

The Selecao coach Fernando Santos shocked many when he decided to bench the 37-year-old Ronaldo for the 21-year-old Goncalo Ramos, who went on to steal the show with a hat-trick in the Round of 16 match at Lusail Stadium.

The other goals came from Pepe, Raphael Guerreiro, and substitute Rafael Leao. Portugal will now play Morocco on Saturday in the quarterfinals.

Even though the former Manchester United forward was finally substituted in for Joao Felix in the 74th minute, African fans’ reactions to the decision to keep him on the bench on social media have been mixed.

READ ALSO: Ronaldo To Sign 173m-Per-Year Deal With Al-Nassr Jan, 2023

While a sizable portion of the population has praised coach Santos for his audacious decision, others contend that because Ronaldo is past his prime, Argentina’s Lionel Messi cannot possibly start from the bench.

Below are comments gathered by THEEAGLE.

Know this and know peace… Ronaldo is fading away as a player… – Temiloluwa David

Ronaldo is finished and should give way to young players. – Emmanuel Bassey

I used to think Ronaldo is finished but after seeing him on the bench, I realised he is completely finished… – Beborn Stephen

Ronaldo is not finished 😂😂 but he’s completely finished 😂 – Evans Adams

Ronaldo should just accept he’s washed up and retire from international football and give space to young guys like Ramos. – James Momanyi.

Ronaldo should have retired when he was at the top, but now he will be remembered for being a miserable flop, he is not bigger than a manager or a team. Good riddance Coach Fernando Santos and good game to Goncalo Ramos. sorry we didn’t see that coming 😔. – Stainless

Which player in the world can bench Lionel Messi? Absolutely no one but see Ronaldo life today, even in his face he wasn’t happy at all. – Zechariah Bala

On the bench, this is where everyone will understand Messi is better than Ronaldo. – Yusuf Umaru

I love the fact that he was benched. That decision entirely changed the mindset of the Swiss coming into the game. CR7 is a Great player and have been so for Portugal for the past 18 years and nothing can change his legacies for club/country.

He can be benched till the final but his impact to this sport won’t change. I’m proud of how he carried himself and celebrated with the team even from the bench. – Bature Shedrack

I love the Portuguese coach for having that winning mentality. In this World Cup, names and perhaps overhyped names don’t get starting stats in critical stages like this. – Hassan Husain

This is what we call a coach, he knows who to play during what match and no matter who you are you can be dropped. – Abrah Michael

The coach has been vindicated by benching him. – Baba Osman

The coach made the right decision. – Rejoice Ashong