"Cristiano Ronaldo will keep the armband. Forever."

After being criticized for throwing the captain’s armband, Portugal head coach continues to look up to Cristiano Ronaldo as the leader.

The recent Cristiano Ronaldo incident created a nationwide vex as the Portugal international was denied a match-winning goal against Serbia. We all witnessed an angry Ronaldo throwing his captain’s armband on the ground before launching himself to the dressing room. As a result of this event, Selecao only ended up drawing 2-2 with Serbia on Saturday in the World Cup qualifier.

If we go back in time, Ronaldo was announced as the permanent captain for Portugal by Carlos Quieroz back in 2008. From there onwards, the megastar has taken charge of the national team to several glorious triumphs. Cristiano even became the all-time top goalscorer for Portugal in 2014 before winning the European title two years later. But, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has been condemned for poor display of being a team leader on the top stage of football after the latest happening.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Record for Portugal under Santos:

👕 53 Games
⚽️ 51 Goals

INSANE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/x7pUQ8zXsK
— cristianoronaldofxii (@cris7lovers_ca) March 28, 2021

Santos is absolutely clear about his decision.

Despite a negative impression, Fernando Santos urged that Ronaldo will face no punishment for his actions. Instead, he will remain Portugal captain forever according to the head coach. The Portugal boss told the reporters ahead of their Group A fixture against Luxembourg on Tuesday. “Yes, he will keep the armband. Forever. Cristiano is a national example.”

“If he had offended the manager, his team-mates or the federation in a thoughtless attitude, then we would have to address the situation. But nothing like that happened. It was a moment of huge frustration. And we are talking about a player who is unbeatable when it comes to his eagerness to win. Nobody will say now that his reaction was beautiful. But there’s no point to discuss if Cristiano should remain the captain. That’s something I want to be very clear about.”

🗣 "His was a moment, like all of us we have had, that he regretted. I think this issue is over. He is going to remain as the captain."

Portugal manager Fernando Santos says there will be no punishment for Cristiano Ronaldo for throwing his captain armband to the ground pic.twitter.com/mTQ8WSrdLb
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) March 30, 2021