It all started at the end of last season when Manchester United, despite some early promise, finished sixth and failed to qualify for the Champions League.
Cristiano Ronaldo, dubbed as Mr. Champions League, with 24 goals - the most for the Red Devils that season by far in his second tenure - was obviously not happy to miss out on an opportunity to shoot for another glory.
The record goal-scorer in the biggest stage of club football and five-time champion - four with Real Madrid and once with United – didn't hold back his frustration, and intended to search for another destination where he can get the chance to play in the desired event.
And thus, he got a reality check.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner found out almost no top clubs were interested in him, in spite of a fair goal-scoring season by his standards – could be a dream for any average forward.
But football is not always all about goalscoring.
Apart from the scores, the 37-year old looked like he lost sharpness lately with his age, which impacted the team's gameplay and chemistry that may have resulted in losing the Champions League spot for the side who finished second a season ago.
Some also accused him of selfishness for always prioritizing himself over the club, which was perceived negatively by United supporters and players – mostly formers.
The then newly recruited coach Erik ten Hag had started his journey with United against Brighton and Hove Albion where he inevitably benched Ronaldo, who missed most of the pre-season amid transfer speculation swirling around him.
The Dutch coach though brought the talismanic forward on as a substitute when they were trailing by two goals against the Seagulls, but it was not enough to save him from the blushes as United lost 2-1 in the season opener at home.
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Ten Hag straight went into pressure.
And it became worse when the Red Devils were thrashed at Brentford 4-0 and Ronaldo played every minute of the game.
He looked slow and hapless at times and barely put up any impact.
Crowded with enormous pressure, Ten Hag took a very bold decision and kept Ronaldo out of his XI in the big game against Liverpool on the third game-week.
Moreover, he sent the forward in the 86th minute of the game, which is a very rare circumstance to adopt for a player likes of Ronaldo, who had been performing in the top level for the last 17 years.
The result came in favor of Ten Hag though as United beat Liverpool 2-1 and the Dutchman got more authority for his decision and made it a new-normal, benching Ronaldo on a regular basis.
Ronaldo's controversial interview with Piers Morgan on the eve of World Cup on the treatment he got from United added fuel to problems which paved the way for immediate separation between the two parties.
A club-less Ronaldo then came into the World Cup - practically his last ever – and scored from the spot in the first game against Ghana to write his name on the record-book as the only player to score in five different World Cups.
Other than the spot-kick, Ronaldo was not able to cause any significant damage that day and in the following group games against Uruguay and South Korea – where he was subbed in 65th minute to see Portugal lose from the sidelines.
Fernando Santos, who has been coaching Ronaldo in the national team for the last eight years including their Euro triumph in 2016, along with the fans were troubled with the performance of their iconic yet out of touch No 7, and it was clearly affecting the team.
Even before the round of 16 game against Switzerland, journalists confronted the thoughtful Portuguese coach with a degree in electrical engineering and telecommunications on his decision about potentially keeping Ronaldo out of the starting XI.
Also Read: Top moments from Round of 16
Ronaldo after getting subbed against the Koreans looked unhappy, reportedly reacted with vulgar language and got involved in a verbal spat with opponent Cho Gue-sung, which was not liked by his own coach.
The incident somehow came as a blessing in disguise for Santos who then showed his courage by taking one of the toughest decision of his life – debuting a 21-year old Goncalo Ramos instead of Ronaldo.
And as a matter of fact, the Benfica forward didn't take much time to prove himself, and that too in empathic fashion – scoring the first knockout hat-trick since 1990.
Not only that, Portugal – without Ronaldo – played some outstanding, free-flowing, attacking football in recent times to demolish the Swiss 6-1.
The crowd, understanding that the game was over for Switzerland, cheered loudly in the second half when Ronaldo came on for the last 20 minutes and took the captain armband from Pepe, replacing the young Ramos.
For the remainder of the proceedings, he couldn't have any significant impact, other than score a goal that was disallowed for offside.
Ronaldo looked quite uncomfortable accepting the situation, and he was clueless at the time, especially when celebrating teammates' goals.
With the final whistle blown, the Portuguese captain went towards the crowd all by himself, thanked them and left the field without his teammates.
Now Santos' men will face Morocco, who are enjoying a fairytale run, and with the performance shown in the round of 16 game, many are believing that this Portugal side can go beyond, even reach the final to break their best-ever World Cup record – fourth position in 2006 with their golden generation.
As it is almost guaranteed, Santos practically don't have any option right now but to put his No 7 to the starting list against the Atlas Lions.
And if they get eliminated or go forward with the same team, we may have already seen the last ever start for Ronaldo in a World Cup match.