Football
ESPN staff 8y

Mourinho: Ronaldo's touchline actions 'didn't help' Portugal win Euro final

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has criticised Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo for the forward's sideline behaviour during the final minutes of the Euro 2016 final between Portugal and France.

The Portugal star, who was taken out of the game early on with a knee injury, was seen manically gesticulating to his teammates. He was called out by Portugal legend Antonio Simoes and others, who suggested the actions were more about Ronaldo's own ego than actually helping the team.

Mourinho on Friday echoed Simoes in comments made to Portugal's SporTV.

"Cristiano Ronaldo didn't help in any way by doing that in the final few minutes of the Euros final," Mourinho said. "There were 11 players on the pitch doing their job, and the person in charge of directing them was the coach.

"I saw it as an overload of emotion from someone who saw that the team was just minutes away from achieving an objective which everyone wanted."

Mourinho suggested Ronaldo, who was substituted with a knee injury just 25 minutes into the game and spent most of extra time on his feet in the technical area, was out of control.

"He lost a little emotional control -- not that that's a bad thing," the Portuguese coach said. "But what my experience tells me is that it is in these moments, when important decisions might need to be made, that the players are lost in their own little worlds."

Ronaldo, who was at United from 2003 to 2009, has not always had a smooth relationship with Mourinho during the three seasons when the Portuguese manager was in charge of Real Madrid.

UEFA on Friday named Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Antoine Griezmann as its final three nominees for the 2015-16 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award.

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