Portuguese reporters were left stunned at the national team’s camp in Qatar today as they observed the behaviour of Cristiano Ronaldo following Portugal’s 6-1 win over Switzerland on Tuesday.
Fernando Santos’ team put in a very impressive display against the Swiss and did so without Cristiano Ronaldo, who was dropped to the bench for the last-16 clash following his poor performances in the tournament thus far.
As the 37-year-old was a substitute, the normal scenario that plays out the day after a match is that the subs train together whilst the starting 11 recover with a gym session.
However, Ronaldo reportedly decided against training with the rest of his fellow last-16 substitutes on the pitch on Wednesday and took it upon himself to join the gym session instead.
According to Spanish newspaper Marca, the Portuguese press in the national side’s camp were surprised as they saw Ronaldo involved in the gym session with the starting 11 – designed to help them recover ahead of their next match.
Ronaldo is said to be in perfect physical condition and made the decision himself.
The reason for this is unknown but it is yet another unusual act performed by the superstar over the last few months.