Cristiano Ronaldo branded ‘a total narcissist’ but could have last laugh in Jesus battle
Cristiano Ronaldo is “a total narcissist” but could still win his ongoing battle with Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus, according to Portuguese football expert Eric Krakauer.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker started in Portugal’s 1-0 win over Wales in the first match of the international break before being an unused substitute in their following match against Norway.
After their match against Norway, which they also won, Ronaldo left the camp and played no further part for Portugal in their remaining two Nations League matches.
Jesus has a 100 per cent record for Portugal so far, with the former Benfica head coach’s side also beating Denmark and Norway again over the past couple of weeks.
However, Krakauer is concerned that Jesus might not have enough power to avoid being the “sacrificial lamb” as Ronaldo still holds a lot of influence with the Portuguese Football Federation.
Krakauer told talkSPORT: “The tarnishing of his reputation is very, very sad for him and for the country because he put Portugal on the map.
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“The complicated situation is that the Portuguese Football Federation is more concerned with the amount of money it has in its coffers rather than the success of the national team.
“That is one of the reasons they didn’t put Roberto Martinez under any pressure to sideline Ronaldo in the World Cup, even though playing him was essentially sacrificing their success.
“Ronaldo brings a tremendous amount of money to the Portuguese Football Federation, so they understand that without him, they aren’t going to have the same sort of income. He is essentially a cash cow, and they are not ready to part ways with that money.
“So, I see this dragging on for a while, and hopefully, Jorge Jesus isn’t the sacrificial lamb because the federation might decide that Ronaldo is worth a lot more than Jesus.”
Krakauer continued on Ronaldo: “He also compared himself with Pele and Maradona. Oh, don’t. Right, which, you know, he can be in that conversation, maybe, but I think it takes a total narcissist. And I’m sorry to say this about a player that I love. It takes a narcissist to write that down.
Ronaldo accused Jesus of breaking a promise to him in a long statement after he left the Portugal camp.
Cristiano Ronaldo: ‘The coach had broken his word to me’
Part of the former Real Madrid and Man Utd superstar’s statement read: “This is the truth on what has happened with Jorge Jesus. As I promised, I decided to recount, in the first person and directly, the circumstances surrounding the last training camp of the national team.
“I told the President of the Federation that, in my opinion, it would be the right choice to retire. That is why, on the day the current head coach was presented, I was genuinely happy with the choice. It was the right option, as the results are confirming. A few days later I received a first contact from the new national team coach saying he would like to meet me in person.
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“He presented me, right there, with a plan for my participation. He told me I would play the first match and the last one, and that for reasons of physical management he would always make three to four changes per match.
“At that point he raised the possibility of me not travelling with the national team to Norway and Denmark. He proposed that I play the first match and stay in Portugal, then rejoin before the match at the Dragao.
“I refused this proposal immediately. It seemed obvious to me that I could not accept it. It was not because I would not play the matches abroad that I would stop captaining our team. That privilege of staying in Portugal would not be a good example. The coach ended up agreeing with my analysis.
“At lunchtime on the day of the match in Norway, an assistant to the coach came to the table where the group was having lunch and informed me that the coach wanted to speak to me.
“To my absolute surprise, the coach asked me if I was fit to play 30 minutes. I was fully focused on my physical recovery, integrated with my teammates as always, and thinking that I would not play that day. Without any problem.
“This request was something outside my physical recovery and training plan — because I was only going to play on the 4th at the Dragao — but of course I said yes.
“He replied that I should then be ready because I would play 30 minutes. The rest everyone knows. I warmed up from half-time, watched the minutes go by, and was not called. The coach had broken his word to me.”
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