Georgina Rodriguez entered into the controversy surrounding the relationship of star Cristiano Ronaldo with Portuguese national team coach Jorge Jesus, by interacting with a photo documenting the interaction of the “Seleção” captain with his teammates during the match against Norway in the European Nations League.
Speculation escalated after the Portuguese team’s 2-1 victory over its Norwegian counterpart, in a match that saw Ronaldo remain on the bench for all minutes of the match, before heading directly to the dressing room at the final whistle without participating in the crowd’s salute with the rest of the players, which sparked media reports about the player’s anger over the decision not to include him.
On the other hand, social media platforms presented a different narrative after a photo was circulated showing Ronaldo congratulating his teammate Gonzalo Ramos after the latter scored the winning goal. The photo received a reaction from Georgina Rodriguez, in a move that followers considered a message of support confirming Ronaldo’s integration with the team and his joy at the success of his teammates, regardless of his personal situation on the bench, in light of accusations leveled by a public account against the press of focusing only on the alleged crises and ignoring such positive shots.
For his part, coach Jorge Jesus explained that the decision to exclude Ronaldo from the starting lineup was due to technical reasons, indicating that he intended to field him during the second half, but the course of the match imposed on him options with different characteristics.
Regarding the player heading towards the locker room without greeting the fans, Jesus acknowledged that he would hold a private discussion with the captain of his national team regarding this behavior, stressing at the same time that the interest of “the national team is the basis.” While questions remain about what happened to Ronaldo after the final whistle, Georgina’s reaction to the clip of him celebrating the winning goal sheds light on a moment that preceded the end of the match and contradicts the assumptions of absolute anger.
