Santos: Ronaldo Out Of Portugal Squad By Request
"Nothing prevents" Cristiano Ronaldo from returning to the Portugal national team, says coach Fernando Santos
GOAL
Portugal coach Fernando Santos has named his squad for the upcoming clashes against Poland and Scotland, with Cristiano Ronaldo a notable absentee.
The Juventus forward is yet to take in an appearance for his country since gracing a World Cup stage over the summer.
He was unable to steer a course past the last-16 stage in Russia, with attention quickly shifted to domestic matters once defeat to Uruguay dashed his dreams on a global stage.
Ronaldo completed his switch from Real Madrid to Juve shortly after his involvement at another showpiece event came to a close, and he is still adjusting to new surroundings.
With that in mind, the 33-year-old has requested that he be overlooked for international duty.
He played no part in September meetings with Croatia and Italy and will not be involved again when Portugal return to competitive action.
They are due to face Poland in the UEFA Nations League on October 11, but then taking in a friendly date with Scotland three days later.
Having removed himself from contention for those fixtures, Ronaldo will not be adding to his haul of 154 caps any time soon.
His remarkable international goal haul will also stand at 85 for the foreseeable future, with it yet to be determined whether he be recalled by Portugal during the next round of games in November.
Santos has stated that he expects a five-time Ballon d’Or winner to be back at his disposal at some stage, but no date has been set for his return.
He said: “In the future, nothing prevents Cristiano from giving his contribution to the national team.”
