Georgina Rodriguez has waded into the growing row between her partner Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal coach Jorge Jesus, launching a stinging attack on the latter through her Instagram account before deleting the post minutes later.
Her comment landed yesterday, Saturday evening, on a post carrying a fabricated statement attributed to Sir Alex Ferguson, Ronaldo's former coach at Manchester United.
The fake statement reads: "If Jorge Jesus knew deep down that he did not intend to use him (Ronaldo), then why did he call him up in the first place? To take a stance? This is not authority, but a lack of trust."
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Writing in Spanish, Georgina added: "I don't know how this man carries the name of Christ", a clear dig at the coach's surname, Jesus. She then deleted the post minutes later after it drew a wave of negative reactions.
Portuguese newspaper "A Bola" traced the original post back to the "Hispanic Sports Media" page. No reliable source has confirmed the statement attributed to Ferguson, and none of the major European outlets have published it.
The roots of the crisis
The row erupted after Portugal's 2-1 win over Norway on Sunday 27 September in the UEFA Nations League, when Ronaldo sat on the substitutes' bench for the entire match.
"The Don" warmed up during the second half, yet Jesus chose not to bring him on, having initially planned to do so, because of Gonçalo Ramos's performance.
Tensions boiled over in the days that followed. The Al-Nassr star skipped a training session in Malmo, Sweden, prompting Portuguese Federation president Pedro Proenca to head to the national team camp early.
Matters came to a head on 30 September. Ronaldo announced his departure from the camp in Copenhagen following Jesus's press conference ahead of the Denmark match and a conversation with the federation president. The former Real Madrid star wrote on Instagram: "At the right time I will tell the truth to all Portuguese people."
Jesus, remember, previously coached Ronaldo at Al-Nassr. Portugal face Norway again this Sunday evening in Porto, without their historic captain.