Arturo Vidal has criticised the handling of Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from the Portugal camp before their Nations League match against Denmark, saying the captain deserved greater respect from manager Jorge Jesus.
Ronaldo left the national team’s camp ahead of the third-round fixture, which Portugal won 4-2. Vidal, the 39-year-old Colo-Colo midfielder, said the situation had been handled poorly and that a player of Ronaldo’s stature should not have left in such circumstances.
“Honestly, it is shameful,” Vidal told Portuguese newspaper A Bola on Friday. “A player like Cristiano, who is one of the four best players in the history of football, and whom everyone would rank first, second or third, leaves the national team this way.
“It is extremely bad.”
Vidal also questioned Jesus’ role in the episode, arguing that Ronaldo’s contribution to Portugal’s football history warranted a different approach.
“I think the manager came across very badly,” Vidal said. “Cristiano should be looked after and protected. He is a player who has given everything to Portugal and made the national team one of the best in the world.”
The Chile international, who has previously played for Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Inter Milan, said Ronaldo had earned the right to be treated according to his status.
“A player like that cannot leave in this way,” he added. “Cristiano has the right to do whatever he wants. What he has given to football and to the Portugal national team is that he took both to another level.
“There are managers who do not respect these things.”
The comments come as efforts continue to contain the dispute surrounding Ronaldo’s departure from the Portugal camp and restore the relationship between the captain and the coaching staff.
