Cristiano Ronaldo confirmed his clash with new Portugal coach Jorge Jesus and sparked turmoil in the national team on Wednesday by leaving the Seleçao camp in Copenhagen, one day before their Nations League match against Denmark.
“After the national team coach’s press conference, and following a conversation with the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, I made the decision to leave the national team camp,” the five-time Ballon d’Or winner wrote on his Instagram account.
“In due course, I will tell all Portuguese people the truth about the reasons behind my departure,” added the 41-year-old, who announced this summer that the current season would “probably” be the final one of his career.
During the press conference ahead of Thursday’s match, Jorge Jesus announced that Ronaldo would not start, after already leaving him on the bench during Portugal’s 2-1 victory over Norway on Sunday.
The 72-year-old coach had also said that his captain was expected to train normally on Wednesday following the press conference.
Absent from training
Photographers saw the forward enter Copenhagen’s Parken Stadium in a tracksuit with his teammates, but he did not take part in the portion of training open to the media, according to video footage.
Some media outlets, including public broadcaster RTP, also aired footage filmed by fans showing Cristiano Ronaldo leaving the stadium alone.
In a brief statement, the Portuguese Football Federation confirmed “CR7” had left the camp and said the team’s preparations would continue as planned “with the 24 remaining players.”
“The entire delegation remains fully focused on the national team’s upcoming commitments,” with Portugal due to face Denmark before hosting Norway in Porto on Sunday.
Jorge Jesus, who replaced Spaniard Roberto Martinez as Portugal coach after the 2026 World Cup, used his press conference to deny that there had been any “incident” involving Cristiano Ronaldo.
Gonçalo Ramos set to start
“There was no incident,” the coach repeatedly insisted when asked about the fact that the Portugal captain, an unused substitute against Norway, had not joined his teammates in greeting Portuguese supporters in the stands after the match.
“Any player, and I was a player myself... when you spend 20 or 30 minutes warming up and then you do not come on, there is no player who is happy,” Jorge Jesus said on Wednesday, playing down the situation.
The Portugal coach nevertheless acknowledged that he had told Ronaldo before the match that he would not start but could call on him towards the end of the game.
“After that, as a coach, I decided that he would not come on. There is no reason to turn it into an incident,” he said, recalling that he knows the player well after coaching him last season at Al-Nassr, with whom he won the Saudi Arabian league title.
Jorge Jesus also said Ronaldo had not refused to train on Tuesday, as some Portuguese media had suggested, but had instead been required to complete individual “mobility” and physical “strengthening” exercises.
The coach had also made clear that he planned to start Gonçalo Ramos at the heart of Portugal’s attack on Thursday.
“If everything goes normally, Gonçalo will play,” he said before adding about Cristiano Ronaldo, “If I need him, he will come on. If I do not need him, he will not come on.”
“No player or president will be able to change the way I think about football,” the outspoken coach added.
