Jorge Jesus’s lawyer launches scathing attack on Cristiano Ronaldo

“He will meet the fate of gods and tyrants”: Jesus’s lawyer used that phrase to target Ronaldo. Luís Henrique, Jorge Jesus’s lawyer, has also launched a fierce criticism of Cristiano Ronaldo as the crisis between Portugal’s captain and his coach intensifies and casts a shadow over the country’s football scene.

Henrique believes Ronaldo’s conduct and his fixation on certain numbers are damaging the public’s memory of his achievements. He said: “Cristiano Ronaldo, through his behaviour, attitude and obsession with certain numbers, is doing something no opponent has managed: spoiling our ability to remember all the good things he has brought us.” He also criticised the player’s circle: “He is increasingly surrounding himself with people who tell him what he wants to hear, and moving further away from those who tell him what he needs to hear.”

Henrique summed up his criticism with an image of power and isolation: “It is the fate of gods and despots; they end up alone on Mount Olympus, surrounded by mirrors.”

His comments come amid the dispute between Ronaldo and Jorge Jesus, which began during the last international break. Ronaldo challenged the way the coach had treated him in the match against Norway in the UEFA Nations League. In Ronaldo’s account, an agreement had been reached over his involvement because of his physical condition. He was reportedly surprised when Jesus asked him to warm up in the second half but did not bring him on, a decision Ronaldo considered a breach of their agreement. The dispute then escalated: Ronaldo left the national team camp before the match against Denmark, later accused Jesus of breaking his promise and said he was ready to accept any sanction.

Henrique also explained that he had stopped writing for the newspaper Record, pointing to Ronaldo’s ownership stake in Medialivre, which owns the paper. “In the context of the clash between Ronaldo and Jorge Jesus, and therefore between him and me, it would not be right — it would even be shameful — to continue working with a company he owns and from which I receive payment. There is no intellectual independence without financial independence.”

He added that people who speak out about power should not depend on the power they criticise, and said he wanted to remove any pressure on his views. “Freedom exercised only when it costs nothing is called opportunism, and I have never written out of opportunism,” Henrique concluded.