Portugal wants Cristiano Ronaldo to know he's welcome back to the national team, if he so desires. The issue? It's not something he desires — not so long as Jorge Jesus is the coach.
According to a report from ESPN on Tuesday, the 41-year-old superstar has issued the Portuguese Football Federation an ultimatum, threatening not to return to the national team under Jesus. Portugal coach Jorge Jesus and federation president Pedro Proença have downplayed the "misunderstanding" that led to Ronaldo’s decision to leave the national team's training camp last week, saying after a 2-1 win over Norway in the Nations League on Sunday that the veteran star can return whenever he wants. "We are talking about the greatest player of all time, a player who has given more than two decades to Portuguese soccer," Proença told Portuguese television channel RTP.
"He will always be part of this squad if he is technically fit to play. Cristiano knows this. He knows that is the sentiment.
What happened was a misunderstanding that needs to be resolved internally." Ronaldo walked out on Portugal’s training camp on Wednesday, hours after Jesus said the veteran star would not start in a game against Denmark in the Nations League. Jesus had kept Ronaldo on the bench in a previous match despite saying he would play. Ronaldo said after leaving that in due course he would "tell the Portuguese people the truth about the reasons" behind his departure, but has not commented on the situation since.
Jesus said Sunday he had no reason to apologize to anyone, and that he would call up Ronaldo again for the next international break if the player wants to come back. "I don’t know what Cris will decide," Jesus said after Portugal’s win. "To me, there was never an issue.
There are non-negotiable principles for a coach, but since there were no issues regarding my authority, for me, if Cris wants to return, he will be eligible for the next call-up, as long as he is playing for Al Nassr. It's up to him." Proença said there will be time for everyone to sit down and discuss the situation. "Ronaldo is a symbol of our country.
He is a Portuguese icon, an absolutely extraordinary player who could have ended his international career after the World Cup but chose not to out of love for the national team," Proença said. While Ronaldo has said that the 2026 World Cup was his final one, he has not spoken on his future in international play. Jesus, who was hired in July following Portugal's exit at the World Cup, said at the time of his hiring that he needed to discuss Ronaldo's future with him at some point.
"That’s a conversation we’re both going to have. What does he want to do for the future of his career?" The Associated Press contributed to this report.
