Cristiano Ronaldo left out of Portugal's squad to face Sweden: Report

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has been given time to rest by Roberto Martinez

Roberto Martinez has made changes to his team, meaning Cristiano Ronaldo will not play for Portugal against Sweden in their friendly.

Martinez has now rested the five-time Ballon d’Or winner from his team’s next match against Sweden, despite having included him in his initial roster. He is the latest player to be rested for the friendly, joining Diogo Dalot, Joao Cancelo, Danilo Pereira, Otavio, Ruben Neves, Vitinha, and Joao Felix.

The Al-Nassr striker was dropped, according to ESPN, solely to allow the 39-year-old some relaxation as the Saudi Pro League has halted for the international break. The striker is currently on a brief holiday with his family in Saudi Arabia. The former Real Madrid star was granted some much-needed time off before another incredibly hectic summer after playing the full ninety minutes for Al-Nassr on Saturday night.

After the Sweden encounter, the top scorer for Portugal will be back in Martinez’s squad and could get some playing time in their final friendly before the final leg of club action. Portugal has been named one of the fancies to win the Euros, thus Ronaldo will probably be a key member of the team again in the summer.

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On March 26, Portugal will play Slovenia, and the Al-Nassr striker will be back in action. Then, on March 30, he will play again in the Saudi Pro League when Al-Nassr takes on Al-Tai in an attempt to catch up to the league’s undisputed leaders, Al-Hilal.

However, following Thursday’s match, they will train with the national squad in advance of Portugal’s friendly against Slovenia on March 26, the Football Federation of Portugal declared on Monday.

With 23 goals this season in the Saudi Pro League, the former Real Madrid player led the scoring in Al Nassr’s 1-0 league victory over Al-Ahli on Friday. On Monday, players from Portugal convened at the national team’s Lisbon headquarters.Right now, 39-year-old Ronaldo is vacationing in Saudi Arabia with his family. With 128 goals for Portugal in 205 matches since his debut in 2003, Ronaldo holds the record for most goals scored by an international player worldwide.

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