Cristiano Ronaldo's sister has said Portugal do not deserve the veteran megastar following his decision to walk away from the national team.
Ronaldo, 41, stormed off after Portugal's win over Norway earlier this week after not being brought on by head coach Jorge Jesus. Things escalated further after a showdown meeting with Ronaldo, his former Al-Nassr manager and the President of the Portuguese Football Federation (PFF), with the 41-year-old taking to social media to confirm he had decided to leave the camp early.
While he will now not feature in games against Denmark and Norway, it is unclear if Ronaldo has officially called time on his glittering international career as of yet.
Sister's explosive social media post
But his sister, Elma Aveiro, has unleashed an explosive social media post taking aim at the Portugal national team and the Portuguese people, where she claims her brother deserved better treatment - and seemingly alludes to the fact that his international career is done.
“CR7 deserved MORE RESPECT,” she wrote on Instagram. “The national team deserved more structure. Portuguese journalism deserved more competence and less speculation. As for the Portuguese people... they don’t deserve to have the best at anything.
“We are envious, disrespectful and ignorant, and we deserve to return to the mediocrity we always had in football before CR7.
“Thank you for everything, CR7. You deserved MORE!”
Ronaldo's statement and coach's response
Ronaldo's bombshell statement on Wednesday night quickly went viral after he confirmed reports of a meeting between he and the President of the PFF.
He vowed to reveal the truth behind his exit in good time, writing: “After the press conference of the national team, and following a conversation with the President of the Portuguese Football Federation, I have decided to leave the national team.
“In time, I will tell all the Portuguese the truth about the reasons that motivated me to leave the national team, to which I always devoted myself. Now is the time to wish Portugal and all my teammates good luck, without exception.”
Jesus, who managed Ronaldo at Al-Nassr, has scotched suggestions of any bad blood between him and one of Portugal's all-time greats.
“There was no incident whatsoever,” he said in reference to Ronaldo storming down the tunnel after the Norway game. “Any player - and I was a player myself - when you spend 20 or 30 minutes warming up and then don't get on, no-one is happy about that.”
