Cristiano Ronaldo left the Portuguese national team camp, confirmed on Wednesday, a day before the match between Denmark and Portugal in the third round of the League of Nations. Ronaldo did not train with the national team again today.
Ronaldo left the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen just minutes after coach Jorge Jesus stated at a press conference that his captain would participate in the training. While the other Portuguese players went out onto the pitch at Parken, Ronaldo left the stadium in a vehicle provided by the Portuguese Football Federation, accompanied by two federation officials.
Ronaldo then spoke out, confirming his departure. He stated that following the press conference by the national team coach and after speaking with the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, he decided to leave the national team camp. He said that when the time comes, he will tell the truth about the reasons for his departure from the national team, but for now, he wished Portugal and all his teammates well.
Portuguese media reported that the private jet, which Ronaldo often uses, had departed from Madrid towards Copenhagen. According to reports in A Bola, the same jet was scheduled to return from Denmark to Spain later that evening.
The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) subsequently confirmed that Ronaldo had not joined the training, but did not explain why. The federation's official statement stated that João Félix had rejoined the squad, while Francisco Conceição, who would not be available the following day, and Cristiano Ronaldo had not trained.
Ronaldo was the main topic of Jesus's press conference. The coach stated that the day before, Ronaldo had not refused to train, that Francisco had not trained due to injury, and that João had not trained because his workload was being reduced. He added that Cris had trained in the gym and that Ronaldo would train today, explaining that it was the fourth day and therefore he would train.
Tensions began after the match against Norway in Oslo, which Portugal won 2-1. Jesus had left Ronaldo on the bench for the entire match, and at one point, he sent him to warm up. Ronaldo left immediately after the final whistle, not staying on the pitch with the rest of the team to greet the Portuguese fans. In the following days, he did not train with the team.
On Tuesday, Ronaldo arrived at the stadium in Malmö with the team, went onto the pitch, and spoke with Jesus, but then left again. The FPF explained that Ronaldo had returned to the hotel to complete an individual programme, as the stadium did not have the equipment he required.
The president of the Portuguese Football Federation, Pedro Proença, changed his schedule and travelled to Scandinavia, where he met with Ronaldo and Jesus. Portuguese media reported during the night that the dispute had been resolved.
Ronaldo has been playing for Portugal since 2003, having accumulated 234 caps and scored 146 goals. With the national team, he won the European Championship in 2016 and two League of Nations titles, but at 41 years old, A Bola highlighted the question of whether this episode would mark the end of Ronaldo's international career, while Spanish media reported on the possibility of a final break between the captain and the national team.
