🇵🇹 Someone Finally Had the Balls In my column last week, after watching him play against Wales, I once again asked why nobody in Portuguese football had the balls to tell Cristiano Ronaldo what was blindingly obvious to everyone else. Apparently, Jorge Jesus did. And Ronaldo's reaction has been predictably pathetic, narcissistic to his very core. At 41 years old, one of the greatest footballers ever produced was left on the bench for a single international match. The manager decided the game didn't require him. Ronaldo was reportedly irritated, subsequently missed team training and has now left the Portugal camp after talks with the federation, promising that one day he will reveal "the truth". The truth may be considerably less dramatic than Ronaldo imagines. He's 41. His powers have hugely diminished. Portugal possess a magnificent generation of footballers. The manager has every right to decide that Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't need to play. Portugal's mistake was allowing this nonsense to continue for so long. They indulged him, accommodated him and massaged an already monumental ego, presumably hoping that age might eventually introduce some realism. Perhaps Ronaldo would recognise the moment himself, bow out gracefully and allow Portuguese football to move forward without forcing anybody to push its greatest player through the exit door. They badly misjudged him. The same ferocious self belief that helped create the footballer has seemingly left the man incapable of accepting what every athlete eventually must. Father Time doesn't negotiate. He doesn't care about your medals, your records, your Instagram followers or your private jet. Someone finally had the balls to treat Cristiano Ronaldo like another member of the squad. So Ronaldo took his ball and went home like an unhappy child at the play park. Pathetic.