Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has urged Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus to publicly apologize to Cristiano Ronaldo, warning that failure to do so could result in his dismissal from the national team. Ferdinand made the comments in a post on X, addressing the ongoing dispute between the star striker and the manager.
The tension reportedly stems from a conflict over Ronaldo’s playing time, which led to the forward leaving the Portugal squad. Ferdinand argued that the manager must take responsibility for the situation, stating, “The coach has to come out and apologise… otherwise, he’s eventually going to get sacked. He has to say publicly, ‘Listen, I got this situation wrong.’”
These remarks stand in contrast to Jesus’s previous public stance. Following Portugal’s victory over Norway in the Nations League, the coach explicitly stated at a press conference that he did not need to apologize to anyone regarding the incident.
Ferdinand’s intervention highlights the significant pressure currently facing the Portuguese coaching staff as they navigate the fallout from the rift with one of the team’s most prominent players. The former England international believes that a public acknowledgment of error is necessary to resolve the crisis and secure Jesus’s position.
<small>Source: Daily Post Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>