Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, has said that Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo is under a "political ban" during the 2022 World Cup.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, has said that Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo is under a "political ban" during the 2022 World Cup. Several sources said that Erdogan was saying that Ronaldo was "missing" at the exhibition in Qatar. Ronaldo's Portugal are out of the quarter-finals of the World Cup after defeating Morocco.

Ronaldo, 37, was a substitute in the match which Portugal won 0-0. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder was not in the starting XI for Portugal's round of 16 match against Switzerland. Ronaldo, who was the first player to score in five different World Cups, left the Qatar edition in tears after Portugal were eliminated.

"They broke Ronaldo. Unfortunately, they banned him from politics," Erdogan told Al Jazeera on Sunday during a speech at a youth event in the eastern province of Erzurum. "Ronaldo is a supporter of the Palestinian cause.

The Al Jazeera report also stated that "Ronaldo has not made a public statement on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

Erdogan was also quoted as saying by Spanish newspaper Marca that "Sending a football player like Ronaldo onto the pitch with 30 minutes left in the game destroyed his psychology and destroyed his energy."

Ronaldo does not currently have a club. He left Premier League club Manchester United before the World Cup. However, he is rumored to have a huge salary of €200m per year from Saudi club Al Nassr.