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Former Super Eagles captain John Obi Mikel has criticised Cristiano Ronaldo over his decision to walk out of the Portugal national team camp, saying the incident has tainted the Portuguese forward’s legacy.
Speaking on his ObiOne Podcast, Mikel said no player, regardless of stature, should abandon his national team or club over disagreements with management, particularly when wearing the captain’s armband.
“The last thing you will do is to walk out of your national team or your football club as a captain, as someone everybody looks up to. It just takes away everything you stand for. I don’t care what deal he had with the manager or not,” Mikel stated.
Mikel also rejected Ronaldo’s claims that Portugal coach Jorge Jesus had broken an agreement over playing time, arguing that a manager’s responsibility is to win matches rather than fulfil private arrangements with individual players.
“A manager is there to win football matches. And they won football matches without you. What he’s done now, I think he’s just tainted his legacy a little bit because now he’s come out; he’s apologised, and the Portuguese FA is saying they might look at maybe suspension,” he added.
Despite his criticism, the former Chelsea midfielder said Ronaldo deserved to be celebrated for his contributions to football as he approached the latter stages of his career.
“We should be celebrating Cristiano Ronaldo now towards the end of his career. We shouldn’t be talking about this. He’s given so much to football. Even if you are not a Cristiano Ronaldo fan, you cannot deny what he’s done for the game,” Mikel said.
Ronaldo reportedly left the Portugal camp during the recent international break after being an unused substitute in a UEFA Nations League victory away to Norway on September 27. He warmed up from half-time but was not brought on.
The forward subsequently accused Jesus of breaking his word twice over playing time and the handling of the situation.
Portugal continued to win without Ronaldo, while the Portuguese Football Federation opened disciplinary proceedings and imposed a provisional suspension. Under federation rules, abandoning a national-team activity can attract a ban of between one and six months.
Ronaldo later issued a lengthy statement apologising to his teammates and fans. He accepted that he should face punishment without leniency but insisted he remained available for selection after serving any sanction and had no plans to retire from international football.
