Wayne Rooney launched a scathing attack on his former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, considering the manner in which the Al-Nassr captain left the Portugal national team camp to be wrong and harmful to the manager, the players, and the local federation.
The Manchester United legend was speaking on the Stick to United show following the crisis that erupted between Ronaldo and Portugal manager Jorge Jesus, which led to the player leaving the camp and issuing a lengthy statement to explain his position.
Rooney said: “Ronaldo is a great player, but leaving the Portugal camp like that and then putting out that statement was wrong in every way.”
He added: “Undermining your manager, your teammates, and the Portuguese Federation in that manner was completely wrong. The whole process was wrong and wasn’t nice to see.”
Ronaldo had insisted that Jesus promised him 30 minutes of playing time against Norway in the UEFA Nations League before leaving him out of the match entirely. He also accused the manager of failing to stick to what was agreed upon regarding how to address the dispute with the media.
Responding to that point, Rooney stated: “You can’t dictate to a manager what he should say in a press conference. That goes beyond anything I’ve ever seen before.”
Manchester United’s former all-time top scorer also touched upon Ronaldo’s international future, saying: “That comes to every player, and there has to be a moment when the international career ends. He is not handling it well, and what’s happening has become uncomfortable to watch.”
Ronaldo has not yet announced his international retirement; instead, he apologized to the Portuguese fans and his teammates for leaving the camp, affirming his readiness to accept the consequences and continue with the national team. Meanwhile, the Portuguese Football Federation opened disciplinary proceedings against him without issuing a final punishment, leaving the 41-year-old’s international future hanging between his desire to play on and Jesus’s tactical vision.
