'I worked with Cristiano Ronaldo at Man United, his latest behaviour is embarrassing'

Cristiano Ronaldo has come in for new criticism following an outburst on international duty which led to crisis talks with the Portugal FA.

The 41-year-old left his country's Nations League camp after he was an unused substitute against Norway and was told he would not start their game against Denmark.

He then shared a cryptic social media message to his fans in which he insisted the reasons behind his departure from the national team will be revealed in due course.

Former Man Untied chief scout Mick Brown told Football Insider that Ronaldo's outburst was "embarrassing" but did not come as a surprise given his

The legendary forward's hunger, ability, and will to continue playing has led to high praise, but has long been tipped as a potential issue for his national team.

Jorge Jesus has insisted Ronaldo can still return to Portugal if he wants to, but after a very public outburst, there are doubts about whether he could call time on his international career.

Why has Cristiano Ronaldo's outburst been criticised?

Throughout his career, Ronaldo has made a habit of leaving clubs under a cloud, having previously done so at Real Madrid, Juventus, and in his second spell at Man United.

The same may now take place with his country, for whom he has scored 146 goals in 234 appearances, and he may now have already played his last game for Portugal.

Given his age and reputation, Ronaldo's actions have been widely criticised, and the concerns about his outburts go back to his first spell at Old Trafford.

"This whole Ronaldo incident is just embarrassing, really," Brown told Football Insider.

"It doesn't come as a surprise to me, though, because we know how he can be, he wants to be the main man all the time and if that's not the case then he's not going to be happy.

"But storming out, threating to never play for his country again, forcing crisis meetings with the Portugal FA, all of these things are not a good look for anybody.

"Whatever the reason for it may be, it goes back to when he was at Man United, I was there at the time, and Alex Ferguson was the best person I've seen at dealing with him.

"He found that balance between being supportive of Ronaldo, but also making it clear that he was the boss. In that respect, things have got a bit out of control now.

"Ronaldo clearly feels he should have more of an influence over his career and whether or not he plays, when ultimately that is the manager's decision.

"He's 41 now, turning 42 next year, and to still have that desire, that hunger and that drive to continue playing is something really special.

"But it can cause problems too, and like I said, those problems were there even back when he was at Man United, and now they've been allowed to spill over again."

What other issues has Ronaldo faced in recent months?

Ronaldo's latest outburst at the Portuguese FA is not the only time he has made headlines this year, with a conflict also having taken place at Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia.

The legendary forward has been the face of the Saudi Pro League since his move there in 2023, but he threatened to leave earlier this year after behind the scenes disagreements.

Football Insider revealed in February that Ronaldo was considering his future at Al Nassr after he went on strike to protest the apparent lack of financial backing his club have received.

The Portugal striker believed that other PIF-backed teams had been given preferential treatmenr and that Al Nassr were falling behind as a result.

The 41-year-old left Man United in similar circumstances just over three years ago, as he fell out with then-manager Erik ten Hag and ultimately saw his contract terminated.