Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva has revealed the team’s players suspected that Cristiano Ronaldo could be dropped during the FIFA World Cup. Ronaldo was named in the starting XI in the Group stage matches against Ghana, Uruguay, and South Korea.

However, Fernando Santos, Portugal’s manager, benched him for the Round of 16 match against Switzerland. Portugal registered a thumping win of 6-1 against the Swiss, with Goncalo Ramos, Ronaldo’s replacement scoring a hat-trick.

Subsequently, Santos backed the same team in the quarterfinal clash against Morocco. However, the African nation stunned Portugal by 1-0 and Ronaldo’s dream of winning the World Cup was shattered.

Silva, who plays for Manchester City, told Record (h/t GOAL): “Between us we talked and asked ‘could it be, would it not be?’, because the players talk. But we only found out about the team in the locker room when we arrived at the stadium, two hours before the game.

“There are 26 players, too many for the coach to choose for each specific game. It never shocks me that he decides to go with one or the other. Right or wrong in the opinion of each one, the coach has the right to make the decisions he makes.”

Meanwhile, after Portugal was knocked out of the World Cup, Santos admitted he has no regrets about benching Ronaldo.

“I don’t think so, no regrets,” Santos said. “I think this was a team that played very well against Switzerland. Cristiano Ronaldo is a great player, he came in when we thought it was necessary, so no regrets.

“If we take two persons that were the most upset it is Cristiano Ronaldo and me. Of course, we are upset, but that is part of the job of the coach and the player.”

After the disappointment of the World Cup, Portugal decided to part ways with Fernando Santos. On the other hand, Cristiano Ronaldo has joined Saudi club Al Nassr for a whopping deal of €200 million per year.