Gonçalo Ramos has become an uncomfortable symbol in Portugal’s changing forward line: not because of any open dispute with Cristiano Ronaldo, but because his decisive moments have repeatedly arrived when the country has been asked to imagine life without its greatest modern footballer.
Key takeaways
- Ramos scored in each of Portugal’s recent meetings with Norway, as well as against Denmark.
- Jorge Jesus left Ronaldo out of the starting side for the Norway match, a decision that became a national talking point.
- Ramos first replaced Ronaldo on the biggest stage at the 2022 World Cup and marked the occasion with a hat-trick against Switzerland.
- The Milan striker has publicly described Ronaldo as an idol and an example for attacking players.
- A recent social-media post and Ramos’s comments on his place in the squad have added to discussion of competition between the two forwards.
A succession story returns
The parallel with Qatar has been impossible to ignore. In the 2022 World Cup last 16, then Portugal coach Fernando Santos chose Ramos to lead the attack against Switzerland rather than Ronaldo. It was Ronaldo’s first time beginning a World Cup match among the substitutes, and Ramos answered with three goals in Portugal’s emphatic victory.
That night made Ramos the first player since Tomas Skuhravy in 1990 to score a World Cup knockout hat-trick. Yet he handled the occasion with notable respect for his captain, saying Ronaldo had encouraged every member of the squad, including him.
Ramos had already made clear where he placed Ronaldo in Portugal’s football hierarchy. In 2022, he called him a reference point for any attacking player. Two years later, he went further, arguing that every young player sees Cristiano as an idol.
The situation has changed in tone, if not necessarily in personal feeling. Jorge Jesus’s decision to omit Ronaldo from the starting XI against Norway provoked a fierce reaction in Portugal, while Ramos supplied the winning goal on difficult ground. He then scored against Denmark and again when Norway visited Portugal, giving his recent international spell the shape of a hat-trick spread over three fixtures.
Respect does not remove competition
Six months before the World Cup, Ramos suggested that he and Ronaldo could complement one another. There is logic in that possibility on selected occasions, but Portugal’s depth between midfield and the attacking line makes a regular two-striker system difficult to accommodate. When the side chooses one central forward, the selection carries obvious consequences for both the number nine and the number seven.
Ramos did little to dampen the debate after his first goal against Norway. Asked whether he had earned his place, he said that his performance and match-winning strike offered a strong answer, while adding that the final judgement belonged to the coach.
Another minor episode drew attention when Ramos shared an Instagram Story featuring a commentator’s line about “the status of being the best”, alongside an image of the striker. The post was later removed. Some interpreted it as a pointed message towards Ronaldo, although that reading remains speculative.
What is beyond argument is the present sporting picture. Ramos is playing regularly for Milan and Portugal, and each successful appearance makes the question around Portugal’s next attacking leader harder to avoid. This is not yet a declared rivalry, nor a simple dismissal of Ronaldo’s standing. It is the familiar pressure of an international side moving forward: one forward is in form, another remains a national institution, and every team sheet becomes part of the larger story.
