On December 6th, 2022, one of the most prominent players of the last two decades was benched against Switzerland during the round of 16 World Cup match.

Christiano Ronaldo is a player that needs no introduction; Ronaldo has always been a player that has constantly made headlines and always been an important player in Premier League soccer. But, during the group stages, Ronaldo has been nothing short of lackluster.

Ronaldo has only been able to score once during the 2022 Qatar World Cup, and it was on a penalty kick against Ghana, one of the lowest ranked teams in the World Cup. It’s safe to say that Ronaldo has not been living up to expectations as he only has one goal during the duration of the world cup.

The reason for Ronaldo being benched is unclear since prior to being benched Portugal lost 2-1 to South Korea, and Ronaldo was seen arguing with a South Korea player instead of focusing on the game.

So was Ronaldo benched because of his poor performance or his attitude problem during the South Korea game?

Ronaldo was also benched with his former club Manchester United before the World Cup started. Man United stated that the reason they benched Ronaldo was out of respect, since the match against Manchester City was over in the first half when Man City scored 6-0.

Ronaldo later left the club after Saudi Arabia offered his club 350 million euros to come play in their league.

Coincidentally, the internet sensation IShowSpeed also showed up to this game just to watch Ronaldo on the bench, and coincidentally every match that Speed has attended Ronaldo has been benched.

Is Speed a curse on Ronaldo? Is Ronaldo washed-up? Or is it just bad luck?