Rooney criticizes Ronaldo over Portugal camp departure

Wayne Rooney criticized Cristiano Ronaldo’s handling of his departure from Portugal’s national team camp, saying the forward’s actions undermined the manager, teammates and Portuguese Football Federation. Rooney also said Ronaldo was struggling to accept the eventual end of his international career, an assessment rather than confirmation of Ronaldo’s intentions. Ronaldo left the camp during the recent international break after a dispute involving Portugal coach Jorge Jesus. He later issued a statement explaining his actions and acknowledging that they could bring consequences. Rooney said the way the dispute became public was wrong and questioned Ronaldo’s decision to leave the squad and issue the statement. The accounts supplied do not establish the details behind the disagreement. One report said Ronaldo believed Jesus had promised him 30 minutes against Norway, but he remained on the bench. It also reported that Ronaldo said Jesus had declined to read agreed remarks at a press conference, while Jesus denied that any such arrangement existed. Those claims have not been independently established in the available information.