Jamie Carragher has hammered Rio Ferdinand and Piers Morgan for their ’embarrassing’ defence of Cristiano Ronaldo after his Portugal walk-out.
Ronaldo’s explosive row with national boss Jorge Jesus has threatened to bring a sorry end to his international career and he released an extraordinary 2000-word statement outlining his grievances following his decision to abandon the side after being left as an unused substitute.
While Ronaldo has apologised for storming home in his private jet, his behaviour has been defended by Morgan and Ferdinand – who are both friends with the Al-Nassr striker.
Morgan called Jesus, ‘the Ten Hag of international football’, while Ferdinand said the treatment of his former Man United team-mate was ‘inappropriate’, claiming the manager ‘thought he was Sir Alex Ferguson or Pep Guardiola‘.
But Carragher namechecked both pundits on the Overlap Daily brought to you by Sky Bet, saying: ‘People think it’s good to be close to people in the game, but this is where it becomes a problem.
‘People like Piers Morgan and Rio Ferdinand, who are big people in the media whether you like them or not, are embarrassing themselves with the nonsense that they’re coming out with because they know Ronaldo.
Jamie Carragher took a swipe at Rio Ferdinand (left) for his defence of Cristiano Ronaldo (right)
Carragher called Piers Morgan and Ferdinand ’embarrassing’ for their assessments
‘You can know someone and try to look after them, but you cannot defend the indefensible.’
Carragher added that Ronaldo’s behaviour while off injured during the final of Euro 2016 was a prime example of his ego taking over.
He said: ‘I’ve never seen anything like it. When the final whistle went, everyone ran onto the pitch or towards the goal-scorer, but he [Ronaldo] stopped and fell to the floor. It always has to be about him. I understand that great players are often like that, but there are times when it’s not.’
Ronaldo’s high-profile strop was in stark contrast to Lionel Messi’s classy farewell game this week, another point Carragher was keen to make.
‘The timing of it, on the same night Messi retired from Argentina, and the way Messi finished compared with Ronaldo probably sums both up in terms of the type of people they are,’ he argued.
‘Messi might have a massive ego, and he might be hard work behind the scenes, but perhaps he hides it better. Ronaldo’s statement is something you have to keep reading.
‘What I find unbelievable is the people around him, when someone is that powerful and that good, nobody around them gives them a tap on the shoulder and says, “You can’t put that out”.’
Gary Neville, who played with Ronaldo for six years at Man United, admitted the 41-year-old is ‘hard to like’.
Ronaldo stormed out of international duty following an explosive row with Jorge Jesus
He said: ‘With Cristiano, it’s difficult because I love him, but I can’t watch what happened at United in his second period and then see him make a statement like that without saying something. He [Ronaldo] has to be pulled up on that and told [that it isn’t acceptable].
‘The problem is, who is going to tell him? He isn’t going to listen to me or you [Jamie Carragher], but I can’t approve of that statement or pretend it was a good thing to do. If you love Ronaldo, it makes him more difficult to like; if you don’t like him, it makes you dislike him even more.
‘I don’t think it’s irretrievable (his legacy). In another year, when he has retired, we will look back at his greatness and his football, and people might not remember this ending.
‘When you have a billion pounds in the bank, the achievements he has had and the power he has, you feel you’re unbreakable, you feel you’re unstoppable. You think you can dictate to a federation or a manager what they should say.
‘I’m glad the manager stood his ground. If he had read those eight points out [in Ronaldo’s social media statement], he [Ronaldo] would have lost a lot of his soul.’
Interestingly, Neville also took a swipe at Ronaldo for failing to mentor youngsters during his 2021 return to Old Trafford, failing to give back the same kind of guidance he was fortunate to receive when he established himself.
He explained: ‘I find it difficult because I remember the 18-year-old kid who came to United. For two or three years, he was imperfect to say the least. He was an erratic young winger who needed a lot of development. I wondered whether he would ever reach the top level at United. What he has done is unbelievable, and his numbers are incredible.
Morgan criticised the conduct of Jesus rather than Ronaldo – who abandoned the national side
‘But the patience and tolerance demonstrated to him by the senior players, the development from the coaches and the belief from the manager were incredible. Everybody worked to make him a success. I don’t think that, when he returned to United, he repaid that by treating the young players in the same way.
‘He was also an unbelievable professional, but the mentorship he received at United, from the manager down to Carlos Queiroz, Roy Keane and everyone else.’
Jesus has not completely shut the door on Ronaldo returning to Portugal duty in the future and his team-mates have also spoken diplomatically about the captain being reintegrated.
But it remains to be seen whether Jesus will accommodate Ronaldo, who turns 42 in February, after being eviscerated by the forward to such a staggering degree.
