“It was even embarrassing to watch” - Emmanuel Petit slams Cristiano Ronaldo for showing ‘big ego’ during incident involving Al-Nassr teammate

Emmanuel Petit has slammed Cristiano Ronaldo for his reaction to Jhon Duran's red card in Al Nassr's defeat to Al Ettifaq. He believes that the referee could have sent the Portuguese star off too, but decided against it.

Speaking to CasinoHawks, Petit stated that Ronaldo's ego showed on the pitch when he kicked the ball in anger after Duran's red card. He believes that it is too late for the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star to change.

Petit said via GOAL:

"You just have to look at Cristiano Ronaldo's reaction to the referee when Jhon Duran was sent off in Saudi Arabia, he was complaining so much that it was even embarrassing to watch on television. The referee probably realised that Ronaldo was an ambassador for the division and thought to himself, I'd be taking a big risk here by sending him off too. But great players have big egos, their emotions can go over the top and it can lead them to react in a bad way."

"I saw that so many times when I was a player. The character of big stars can be huge. He will learn from that, but will he change? I don't think so. This is how he is, it's too late for him to change. He has an arrogance on the pitch with the referee, with his opponents and even his team-mates. But top players all have that and he will help Real Madrid win many more trophies," he added.

Jhon Duran joined Al Nassr in the January window for a reported €77 million. The former Aston Villa star appeared to have slapped the back of the head of Al Ettifaq midfielder Abdulelah Al-Malki and the red card led to Cristiano Ronaldo's reaction.

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Emmanuel Petit has spoke about Cristiano Ronaldo's ego in the past

Emmanuel Petit spoke about Cristiano Ronaldo last year and claimed that it is his ego that drove him to be the player he is today. The Frenchman claimed that the last 15 years have seen the Portuguese superstar work hard in training.

He said via HT:

"He has a big ego, but that ego drove him on every single day to be the very best he could. He has set the example for 15 years and I have huge respect for him. I have respect for sportsmen like that who want to get to the very top but also stay there. In terms of the mental side and physical side, what an example Cristiano Ronaldo has set."

Cristiano Ronaldo is aiming to score 1000 goals in his career before he calls it time. He has scored 925 goals in his career and is inching closer to his target but he has admitted that his time on the pitch is coming to an end.