Piers Morgan slams Portugal coach Jorge Jesus over treatment of Ronaldo

British broadcaster Piers Morgan has criticised Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus over his handling of Cristiano Ronaldo, accusing the manager of disrespecting the national team captain.

Morgan made the remarks amid continuing debate over Ronaldo’s recent departure from the Portugal camp following his omission from the starting lineup.

Writing on X, Morgan compared Jesus to former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, with whom Ronaldo had a highly publicised dispute before leaving Old Trafford in 2022.

Morgan accused Jesus of trying to establish his authority by humiliating Ronaldo and described the coach as the “Portuguese Ten Hag.”

His criticism followed Portugal’s 2-1 Nations League win over Norway, during which Ronaldo remained an unused substitute despite warming up.

Jesus subsequently defended his decision, saying several players warm up during matches without eventually being introduced and arguing that the situation attracted exceptional attention because of Ronaldo’s status.

Ronaldo leaves Portugal camp

The situation escalated after Jesus indicated that Ronaldo would also not start Portugal’s following match against Denmark.

Ronaldo subsequently left the national-team camp after discussions with Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proença.

Neither Ronaldo nor the federation announced an international retirement.

Jesus has since said the door remains open for Ronaldo to return to the Portugal squad, while Proença described the controversy as a misunderstanding and stressed the forward’s continuing importance to the national team.

Ronaldo remains Portugal’s all-time leading scorer with 146 goals in 234 appearances, according to Reuters.

The 41-year-old has since returned to training with Saudi club Al-Nassr.