Lineker weighs in on Cristiano Ronaldo: "It's a bit sad, he deserves a send-off like Messi's"

Gary Lineker rarely holds his tongue when something strikes him as unfair, and this time it was Cristiano Ronaldo's turn. The former England striker spoke out about the clash between the Portuguese star and Portugal manager Jorge Jesus, and he didn't mince words: he found it "sad" to see how the relationship between the two ended after so many years of history together.

The story goes back a ways. This week, Ronaldo made clear he'll remain available for the national team if called up again, but he also leveled a direct accusation: he claimed Jesus "broke his word" with him. The Al Nassr forward even compared himself to Pele and Diego Maradona while explaining that the coach was supposed to have made a series of pre-agreed remarks at a press conference on September 29, right after Ronaldo had left a training camp activity.

Lineker, who scored 41 goals in 80 appearances for England, didn't hide his discomfort with how the whole situation has been handled.

He's already made a kind of apology. I just hope they sort it out and give him a really good send-off. I think it's a bit sad because he's been so great... and in the end, in five or ten years, nobody's going to remember this. It won't matter. We'll only remember how great he was.Gary Lineker

The Messi mirror

The most striking part of Lineker's comments was the comparison he drew with Lionel Messi. For the Englishman, the Argentine's farewell with his national team was an example to follow, and he believes Ronaldo deserves something similar.

If you look at Messi's send-off, it was so beautiful... and I think Cristiano deserves the same.Gary Lineker

For his part, Ronaldo himself appears to have left the door open both to a return with Portugal and to a proper farewell, should he at some point decide to retire from international football.

"I've heard a lot about farewell matches, that I deserve a dignified send-off and that the federation wants to give me that opportunity," the striker explained. "I can promise all my fans, and especially all Portuguese people, that we'll have one or more farewell matches. There will be time for that."

The Portuguese Football Federation has also tried to cool things down, with its president describing what happened as a simple misunderstanding. Jorge Jesus himself struck a similar tone, making clear the door remains open for the legendary forward, who came through Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United, to wear the Portugal jersey again if he so decides.