Ronaldo and Mendes split after 'huge f**k up'

Karan Tejwani

• 18 Feb 2023 22:50 GMT
• 3 min read

Cristiano Ronaldo’s split up from long-term agent Jorge Mendes after the pair disagreed over his interview with Piers Morgan.

Ronaldo was with Mendes for his entire senior career but the pair’s relationship began to deteriorate towards the end of his time at Manchester United.

Ronaldo joined Al Nassr in December in a deal to make him the highest-paid player in world football after stating his desire to leave Manchester United.

READ: Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr: Goals, assists, results & fixtures

But it came after his split from Mendes, and L’Equipe now have the details on why the pair ended their partnership.

Mendes and Ronaldo's 'divorce'

The French publication revealed that Mendes was disappointed with the interview, which has been described as a ‘huge f**k up’ on Ronaldo’s part.

The end of the relationship reportedly felt like a ‘divorce’ for the agent, with the two going back almost two decades, right from when Ronaldo was at Sporting.

READ: Aboubakar: Ronaldo tried to persuade me to stay

Ronaldo was disappointed with the fact that Mendes wasn’t able to secure him a big move having looked for a transfer to Bayern Munich or Chelsea.

Mendes and Ronaldo split after the infamous interview in November, which wasn’t sanctioned by Manchester United, as he criticised the club, manager and structure.

He was then released by Manchester United a few days after, leaving him free to join Al Nassr, and he completed the move in December, making his debut in January.

Ronaldo joined Al Nassr on a €200 million-per-season deal running until 2025 and his manager Rudi Garcia has suggested he won’t retire at the Saudi Arabian club, hinting that the Portuguese star has one more stint in Europe in him.

He has had a fine start to life at Al Nassr, scoring five goals for the club, including a hat-trick last week as he seems to be enjoying his football once again after a sour end to his time at Old Trafford.