After Ronaldo exit: BVB star the big winner? | OneFootball

The surprising departure of a superstar has suddenly opened the door in the Portugal national team for an attacking player from Borussia Dortmund.

Fabio Silva is part of the Portugal national team squad. After the striker was left out of the first two international matches, the situation has now changed. According to the official UEFA website, Fabio Silva appears on the match sheet for the 2024 European champion’s game against Denmark. That brings a major dream within touching distance for the 24-year-old: a return to the pitch in the Selecao shirt. His last appearance for Portugal was 683 days ago — on November 18, 2024, when he also made his debut. Whether he will actually feature this time will be decided in the match against Denmark.

The striker recently proved in impressive fashion at BVB that he can help his national team. Mostly coming off the bench, Fabio Silva has developed into the team’s most dangerous attacking player under coach Niko Kovač. In six appearances this season, he has scored four goals and added another assist — a return that has earned him not only the call-up, but now also a place in the squad.

Ironically, it was Cristiano Ronaldo who paved the way for this. On Wednesday evening, the superstar caused a major uproar in the team camp in Copenhagen. He had already been unhappy about spending the full 90 minutes on the bench in the 2-1 win over Norway — for the first time in 18 years, Cristiano Ronaldo did not play at all in an international match. On Tuesday, he then surprisingly skipped team training and instead completed an individual session in the gym. National coach Jorge Jesus initially played down the matter and even announced at the subsequent press conference that Cristiano Ronaldo would return to training on Wednesday — including an agreement that the 41-year-old would also not feature against Denmark.

Cristiano Ronaldo uproar a stroke of luck for BVB star Fabio Silva?

Contrary to that announcement, Cristiano Ronaldo did not show up for training at all on Wednesday and instead left the entire team camp on his private jet. In a statement, he said: “I have decided to leave the national team training camp.” He added that he would explain the exact reasons behind his decision to the Portuguese people at the appropriate time. A complete retirement from the national team is now seen as a possible consequence of the incident.

Photo: Getty Images

One thing is already certain: Cristiano Ronaldo will no longer play for Portugal in October. Along with Thursday’s match against Denmark, he will also miss the return game against Erling Haaland and Norway on Sunday, October 4. Instead, the superstar is likely to focus on his club: Al Nassr Riyadh return to Saudi league action on October 9.

For Fabio Silva, the chaos surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo now represents a real opportunity. If he does get to play against Denmark, he could fill exactly the gap the superstar has left behind with his uproar.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.