Cristiano Ronaldo, who walked out on the Portugal national team last week, apologized and opened the door to a return to international duty in a statement published Tuesday.
“The responsibility is exclusively mine. I apologize to the Portuguese people (...) and to my national team teammates for leaving the camp,” wrote the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
“If I am physically fit (...) after serving the suspension that will be imposed on me, I will be available, as I have always been until today, to play and win with our national team,” Ronaldo added.
In his lengthy statement, Ronaldo accused head coach Jorge Jesus of breaking his word. According to the player, the coach had promised to bring him on for 30 minutes in Sunday’s Nations League match against Norway. Jesus did ask his star player to warm up, but ultimately did not bring him on.
“Breaking his word had a decisive impact on me. I felt that from that point on, my presence would only harm the group, and I did what I have always said I would do if I no longer felt useful: I packed my bags and left. The consequences of this action must be assessed and sanctioned by the Portuguese Football Federation,” Ronaldo acknowledged.
“I believe the sanction should not include any mitigating circumstances,” he added. “I am not just any player, I am the team captain, and that constitutes an aggravating circumstance.”
Portugal have won all four of their Nations League matches, including the last three without Ronaldo, and have qualified for the quarterfinals with two group matches still to play.
