Jamie Carragher tears into Rio Ferdinand and Piers Morgan over their ’embarrassing’ defence of Cristiano Ronaldo after his Portugal walk-out – as Gary Neville admits his former Man United team-mate is ‘difficult to like’

Jamie Carragher has criticized Rio Ferdinand and Piers Morgan on the Overlap Daily for defending Cristiano Ronaldo following the forward's walk-out on the Portugal national team. Ronaldo departed on his private jet and published a 2,000-word statement outlining grievances against manager Jorge Jesus after being left as an unused substitute. Carragher described Ferdinand and Morgan's defense of the 41-year-old Al-Nassr striker as embarrassing.

Gary Neville also criticized Ronaldo, stating that his actions make him difficult to like and pointing out that he failed to mentor younger players during his second stint at Manchester United. While Ronaldo later apologized for leaving the squad, Portugal manager Jorge Jesus has not entirely ruled out the possibility of the forward returning to international duty in the future.