Portugal manager Fernando Santos has said “it’s high time to leave” his captain Cristiano Ronaldo alone.

Santos made this statement while denying rumors that Cristiano Ronaldo had threatened to leave the Portugal World Cup team in Qatar.

Remember how Ronaldo reportedly threatened to leave Portugal's World Cup squad after Santos benched him in their 6-1 victory over Switzerland in the round of 16.

The reports have since been refuted by the Portuguese Football Association, which maintains that Ronaldo never threatened to quit the team while speaking with Santos.

However, Santos clarified the situation with Ronaldo personally when he addressed the development during his pre-match press conference prior to Portugal's World Cup quarterfinal match against Morocco on Saturday.

He said, “I think it is high time to leave Ronaldo alone."

“He has never told me that he wants to leave our national team, and I think it is high time we stopped with this conversation, that we stop with the polemics.”

Explaining how he broke the news that Ronaldo would be benched against Switzerland, Santos said: “I spoke to him after lunch on the day of the game and invited him into my office."

“For obvious reasons, Cristiano was not very happy about it, as he has always been the starting player. He told me, "Do you really think it is a good idea?" But we had a normal conversation in which I explained my viewpoints and, of course, he accepted them.

“We had a frank and normal conversation.”