Cristiano Ronaldo or Jesus? Bruno de Carvalho's surprise answer | OneFootball

Bruno de Carvalho analyzed the recent episode involving Cristiano Ronaldo and Jorge Jesus in the National Team and flatly rejects the idea that the outcome can be seen as a victory for either the manager or the Portuguese captain.

The former Sporting president explains that he knows both men and that he is dealing with two strong personalities, two people used to making decisions, competing, and defending what they believe in. Even so, he makes it clear that he never argued Ronaldo should receive special treatment or that his past gave him the right to influence the coach’s decisions.

“A national team coach chooses. That is his role. He decides who plays, who stays on the bench, who comes on, who goes off, and even who is not called up. That authority is not, and should not be, up for debate. Jorge Jesus said something I agree with: players are all equal, but they have different statuses. That is exactly where my reflection begins,” he wrote in 'Bola na Rede'.

Bruno de Carvalho believes the difference should not have been in whether he started or in the minutes played, but in the way a situation he considers close to the end was managed: “Not on the team sheet. Not in the starting eleven. Not in the number of minutes. But in the human management of a situation that we all know is nearing its end. Cristiano did not need to play by decree. He needed the end, when it came, to live up to his story. So where did that different status go? That is the question that remains with me.”

Despite the position he has taken, he does not place all the responsibility for the outcome on Jorge Jesus. The former executive believes there are events and conversations unknown to the public that make it difficult to give a definitive assessment: “I do not see any winner. I see the National Team losing one of the greatest players in its history under circumstances that, surely, we all wish had been different. I see Cristiano Ronaldo leaving the National Team feeling that the conditions to continue no longer existed. I do not intend, therefore, to assign blame as if I were in a courtroom. In a conflict there are decisions, actions, and reactions.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.