Fernando Santos, who had previously served as the coach of Portugal, said for the very first time the reason why Cristiano Ronaldo remained on the bench following the conclusion of the group stage of the 2022 World Cup.

Besiktas, a Turkish team, has just announced that Santos will be taking over as head coach. During the unveiling ceremony for the new team, he was once again questioned about the possibility of benching superstar Ronaldo at the 2022 World Cup. This was a tournament in which Portugal was eliminated after losing to Morocco in the quarterfinals by a score of 0-1; Spain was the side that eliminated Portugal.

There have been three matches that Ronaldo has participated in. Santos on to explain that after that, we made the decision to leave him on the bench. “The decision was entirely strategic, and it had a significance for the group as a whole. We, the coaching staff, believe that it is the best thing that could happen to the team. The choice was not something that was made for personal motives. In the upcoming matches, Ronaldo has the opportunity to make a full comeback to the main squad if we are not eliminated altogether.

Santos was terminated from his position by the Portuguese Football Federation following the team’s failure to achieve success in the 2022 World Cup. Previously, the military chief, who is now 69 years old, held this job for eight years and was thought to have a positive relationship with Ronaldo.

The only major championship that Portugal has ever won in its history was the Euro 2016 tournament, which Santos was a part of. The 2019 Nations League championship was again won by Portugal under his leadership. With his departure, Santos became the coach who held the record for the most matches won and the most matches held in the history of Portugal. Under Santos’s leadership, Portugal won 67 of their 109 matches, drew 23 of them, and lost 19 of them.

On the 23rd of January, 2023, Santos accepted the position of leader of Poland after leaving Portugal. However, on September 13, the two teams parted ways after Poland suffered a defeat to Albania in the Euro 2024 qualifying match by a score of 0-2 in favor of Albania. It was only six matches that Santos had worked for at that point in time.

On the 8th of January, Besiktas made the announcement that Santos had been appointed. The head coach, who is 69 years old, is tasked with the responsibility of reestablishing the Turkish club, which is doing badly. In addition to Senol Gunes, Burak Yilmaz, and Riza Calimbay, he is the fourth coach that Besiktas has brought on board for the current season.