Cristiano Ronaldo is set to play under yet another new manager and this time, at the national team following the appointment of former Everton and Belgium boss Roberto Martinez as Portugal new coach.

The Spaniard was understood to have swiftly found a new role after quitting his job as boss of  the Red Devils of Belgium after the World Cup but already appears to have stumbled into a significant problem with Cristiano Ronaldo.

National Daily understands that Roberto Martinez has a Cristiano Ronaldo -sized problem to solve after being confirmed as the Portuguese national side ’s new manager.

The Spaniard was previously in charge of the Belgium side but following a miserable World Cup campaign that saw a group stage exit, he did not have his contract renewed. He has now been announced as the new manager of Portugal, with his predecessor Fernando Santos sacked after the 2016 European champions were eliminated at the quarter-final stage by Morocco.

Martinez has been appointed boss of the Portugal national football team

Martinez has been unveiled during a press conference after putting pen to paper on a three-and-a-half-year contract. Upon his arrival, Martinez might have a conundrum to solve regarding the future of Ronaldo.

Speaking in October last year, when Ronaldo was still a Red Devils player, he said: “Cristiano Ronaldo is an iconic player and when the Ballon d’Or list came out he was still the highest player from Manchester United.

“He has two problems: one is that he is 37 so when he has a bad game, it is because he is ‘too old’ and it’s almost like he is not allowed to play a bad game. The problem this year is that you can have five substitutes.

“Ronaldo comes from an era that, when you are not playing 90 minutes, it was seen as a negative. Now we are seeing attacking players not playing 90 minutes regularly, maybe 20 or 30 minutes because of the intensity and the demands of the Premier League.”

The former Real Madrid superstar already lost his starting role during the closing fixtures of the World Cup and was benched for the round of 16 clash with Switzerland. Portugal ended up winning 6-1 with the veteran’s replacement Goncalo Ramos bagging a hat-trick on his full debut.

Ronaldo remained on the bench for Portugal in the next game with the side being eliminated by Morocco. Taking to Instagram shortly after his nation’s exit, the striker appeared to suggest that he would not be appearing at another World Cup but stopped short of confirming his international retirement.

He wrote: “Winning a World Cup for Portugal was the biggest and most ambitious dream of my career. Fortunately I won many titles of international dimension, including Portugal, but putting our country’s name on the highest foot in the World was my biggest dream.

“Sadly yesterday the dream ended.It’s not worth reacting to heat,” Ronaldo added. “I just want you all to know that much has been said, much has been written, much has been speculated, but my dedication to Portugal hasn’t changed for a moment. I was always one fighting for the objective of all and I would never turn my back on my colleagues and my country.”

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