Having been left out of Portugal's starting XI for their two knockout-stage matches at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly held talks with his country's new head coach to discuss his future with the national team.
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The 2022/23 season so far has perhaps not been a particularly enjoyable one for Ronaldo. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner lost his starting berth at Manchester United and left the club under acrimonious circumstances following his infamous interview with Piers Morgan.
For the national team, the 37-year-old was unable to inspire Portugal to a maiden World Cup title in Qatar as he was dropped to the bench for both of A Selecao's knockout-stage encounters against Switzerland and Morocco.
It was these omissions that led many to believe that Ronaldo's time with Portugal could be coming to an end, but with Fernando Santos being dismissed as national team head coach soon after the tournament concluded and Roberto Martinez stepping in, it seems the Spanish manager is eager to keep the football icon around.
According L'Equipe, the former Wigan Athletic and Everton boss was recently in Saudi Arabia to watch the Spanish Super Cup final, which Barcelona won comfortably with a 3-1 victory over Real Madrid, but it has emerged that he was also present in the Middle East to discuss Al Nassr's newest and biggest star's international future.
Ronaldo is Portugal's all-time leading goalscorer and appearance-maker with 118 strikes in 196 games for the 2016 European champions, and Martinez is understood to be eager to keep him in the national set-up for their 2024 UEFA European Championship qualification campaign.
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He hinted as such during his unveiling as head coach of the Iberian nation.
"Decisions are made on the pitch. I don't make decisions in the office. I hope to contact all the players," the 49-year-old told members of the media, as per the Daily Mail.
"Cristiano Ronaldo is a player that makes the list. He has been in the national team for 19 years.
"I hope we can sit down with him and create the best team."
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