LIVE: Coach's bristling demand amid Ronaldo drama

Portugal manager Fernando Santos has declared it's "high clip for you to permission Ronaldo alone" amid the FIFA World Cup play surrounding the megastar forward.

The chaos pursuing Ronaldo successful Qatar intensified erstwhile it was reported the 37-year-old had threatened to permission the World Cup aft being told helium would beryllium benched for the last-16 clash with Switzerland.

"He has ne'er told maine that helium wanted to permission our nationalist team," Santos said.

"It's precocious clip we halt with this conversation, halt the controversies.

"It's precocious clip for you to permission Ronaldo alone, successful acknowledgement for what he's done for Portuguese football."

Ronaldo was the archetypal Portuguese subordinate up the passageway aft the thumping of Switzerland, lumbering disconnected aft the full-time whistle arsenic his teammates celebrated the side's astir emphatic triumph of the tourney yet.

"I spoke to him aft luncheon connected the time of the crippled and invited him into my office," Santos added.

"For evident reasons Cristiano was not precise blessed astir it arsenic helium has ever been the starting player.

"He told me: 'Do you truly deliberation it's a bully idea?'.

"But we had a mean speech successful which I explained my viewpoints and of people helium accepted them. We had a frank and mean conversation."

Portugal volition meet Morocco successful a quarter-final aboriginal connected Sunday greeting (AEDT) arsenic a spot successful the semi-final goes connected the line.

Ronaldo is gunning for his archetypal World Cup rubric successful what's apt his last campaign.