Cristiano Ronaldo has accused Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus of twice breaking his word, saying a failed agreement to publicly explain his omission against Norway drove him out of the camp but insisting he remained available after any punishment.
In a lengthy statement, the 41-year-old gave his account of the dispute that prompted his departure from Copenhagen before Portugal’s Nations League match against Denmark last week.
Ronaldo’s account of the dispute
Ronaldo said Jesus had agreed a plan under which the forward would miss the Norway and Denmark matches to manage his fitness. However, on the day of the Norway game, the coach told him he would play for 30 minutes.
“Everyone knows the rest. I warmed up from half-time onwards, watched the minutes tick by and wasn’t called on,” Ronaldo said. “The manager had broken his word to me.”
Failed agreement and departure
Portugal’s captain and all-time leading scorer said a subsequent meeting with Jesus, attended by his club side Al Nassr’s sporting director Simao Coutinho, produced an agreement for the coach to clarify events at his next press conference.
According to Ronaldo, an eight-point document was prepared saying he had never demanded playing time, had respected Jesus’s decisions and that the coach asking him to warm up without bringing him on had been a mistake.
Ronaldo said the agreed notes did not require Jesus to apologise to him but said the coach’s public remarks bore no resemblance to their private discussion.
“It was the second time he had broken his word to me,” Ronaldo said. “I decided to leave the training camp without waiting for any further broken promises.”
Reaction and availability
The statement provided Ronaldo’s account but on Sunday, after Portugal’s win over Norway, Jesus denied he had made any agreement with the player but left the door open for his return.
The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Ronaldo’s statement.
Ronaldo apologised for failing to greet supporters after the Norway match and for leaving his teammates, accepting that his captaincy made his conduct more serious. “The consequences of my actions must be assessed and punished by the Portuguese Football Federation,” he said.
Despite the rupture, Ronaldo said he was not limiting his international ambitions to a farewell appearance. “If I’m physically fit, playing for my club – scoring goals, I hope – after serving whatever suspension is imposed on me, I’ll be available, as I’ve always been until now, to compete and win for our national team,” he added.
