According to reports, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Portuguese football legend Cristiano Ronaldo was given a ‘political ban’ from the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Erdogan was quoted by several media sites as suggesting that Ronaldo was ‘wasted’ during the major event in Qatar. After losing to Morocco in the World Cup quarterfinals, Ronaldo’s Portugal was eliminated. In the match, which Portugal lost 1-0, the 37-year-old Ronaldo was deployed as a substitute. The star footballer who played for Manchester United and Real Madrid in the past did not even make the starting lineup for Portugal’s Round of 16 match against Switzerland.
After Portugal was eliminated from the World Cup in Qatar, Ronaldo, who had previously been the first male footballer to score in five different World Cups, departed the venue in tears.
‘Ronaldo was a waste for them. Sadly, they have prohibited him from participating in politics’ Al Jazeera cited Erdogan’s words from a Sunday speech he delivered to young people in the eastern region of Erzurum. ‘Ronaldo is an individual who supports the Palestinian cause.’
Ronaldo ‘has never offered any public statements on the Israel-Palestine conflict’ says Al Jazeera article.
The Spanish newspaper Marca also cited Erdogan as stating that sending a player like Ronaldo onto the field with barely 30 minutes remaining in the game ‘ruined his mind’ and ‘sucked his energy.’
Ronaldo is not presently playing for a team. Before the World Cup, he left Manchester United of the Premier League. However, there are rumours that the Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr has offered him a staggering 200 million Euro annually for joining with them.
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