Ronaldo breaks silence on Portugal departure and demands punishment
Cristiano Ronaldo has issued a detailed statement explaining his decision to abandon Portugal's training camp in Denmark, accusing national team coach Jorge Jesus of breaking his word on two occasions while accepting full responsibility for his actions and asking the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) to sanction him without leniency.
The 41-year-old captain, who left the team hotel in Copenhagen last Wednesday, published a six-page document on Tuesday evening that laid bare the breakdown in trust between Portugal's all-time leading scorer and the man who coached him to the Saudi Pro League title at Al Nassr last season.
An agreement allegedly broken
Ronaldo said he met Jorge Jesus at the Portuguese FA's training centre in Oeiras at the end of his holidays, a meeting attended by Simão Coutinho — the Al Nassr sporting director who previously served as a players' agent and brokered Ronaldo's move to the Riyadh club in 2025.
According to Ronaldo's account, Jesus presented a participation plan for the Nations League group stage: the forward would play the first and last matches, with three to four substitutions used each game for physical management. The coach initially suggested Ronaldo need not travel to Norway and Denmark, a proposal the captain rejected, writing: "That privilege of staying in Portugal would not be a good example."
Ronaldo said that in a subsequent meeting in Lisbon, on the eve of the training camp, these principles were maintained until he was informed on matchday that he would play 30 minutes against Denmark.
He wrote: "I warmed up from half-time, saw the minutes pass and was not called. The coach had failed me with his word."
The autumn match in Oslo on 27 September saw Gonçalo Ramos start and score in a 2-1 win over Norway, while Ronaldo remained an unused substitute after warming up for 37 minutes — an incident the player described as deeply aggravating.
The eight-point document that was never read
Following that match, Ronaldo described a meeting with Jesus and Coutinho that he called "a deep moment, very frank, without any kind of filter."
He said an eight-point document was drawn up and validated by him, which the coach was supposed to reference during his pre-match press conference in Copenhagen. The document, as described by Ronaldo, stated:
• The usage plan was proposed by Jesus and accepted by Ronaldo
• Ronaldo never demanded to play specific minutes
• Jesus was wrong to have Ronaldo warm up for an extended period without using him
• Ronaldo's failure to acknowledge supporters after the Norway match was "a moment of frustration"
• Jesus confirmed he wanted Ronaldo in the squad
Ronaldo said the press conference bore no resemblance to what was agreed: "The posture had nothing to do with our meeting. I heard expressions and an aggressiveness that I think I did not deserve, an attitude of 'I want, I can and I command' that he never expressed to me, near or far, in private."
The Malaga-born forward said he decided to leave immediately after watching the coach's press conference, where Jesus stated that Gonçalo Ramos would start against Denmark if all went normally in training.
According to reports in O Jogo, Ronaldo stood up and said: "I'm not doing anything here, I'm leaving."
Ronaldo asks for punishment, remains available
Ronaldo apologised to his teammates and to Portuguese supporters for abandoning the training camp, calling it "a break of confidence" after a second alleged breach of the coach's word.
"I decided to abandon the training camp without waiting for another broken promise. For me, the truth is still the most important thing in relationships between people. Even if it hurts, tell me the truth."
He declared himself available to return to the national team but accepted that consequences must follow his actions.
"The consequence of this act must be evaluated and punished by the Portuguese Football Federation," Ronaldo wrote. "I understand that the punishment should not have mitigating factors. I am not just any player, I am the team captain, which constitutes an aggravating factor."
Under the FPF's disciplinary regulations, players who abandon training camps or fail to report without justification face suspensions ranging from one to six months and fines between €500 and €1,000.
Near-retirement after the 2026 World Cup
Ronaldo revealed he had prepared a farewell letter to the Portuguese public after the 2026 World Cup in the United States, where Portugal were eliminated by Spain in the round of 16.
"On the return flight, the FPF president asked and insisted that I reconsider my decision to leave," Ronaldo wrote. Pedro Proença, the FPF president, then sought Ronaldo's opinion on appointing Jorge Jesus to replace Roberto Martínez as national team coach — Ronaldo replied that, in his view, it would be "the right choice."
Portugal have since won all four of their Nations League Group A4 matches under Jesus, securing qualification for the quarter-finals with a 2-1 victory over Norway at Estádio do Dragão on Sunday.
Federation signals openness to return
Both Proença and Jesus have indicated that Ronaldo remains welcome in the national team set-up, with the coach stating that "Cristiano will be a callable player if he wants to return."
However, no formal meeting has been scheduled between the three parties, and Ronaldo's description of the Danish training camp departure as irreversible has added uncertainty to any immediate reconciliation.
Ronaldo, who holds the world record for international caps with 234 appearances and 146 goals for Portugal, is now back training with Al Nassr under Australian coach Ange Postecoglou.
He ended his statement with a message to supporters: "If I am physically well, playing at my club, scoring goals, after serving whatever suspension is applied to me, I will be available, as I have always been until today, to compete and win for our national team."
Reaction from former officials
Gilberto Madaíl, who served as FPF president from 1996 to 2011 and was in charge when Ronaldo first joined the national team, criticised the captain's approach in an interview with Rádio Renascença.
"Ronaldo should have the humility to recognise that it was also through the Federation that he achieved everything he has, all the prestige he has today," Madaíl said, adding that Proença had been "spectacular" in his handling of the crisis.
Fernando Gomes, the current Portuguese Olympic Committee president and a former FPF president himself, expressed hope that the situation would be resolved for the good of Portuguese sport, while declining to comment directly on the case.
António Simões, the former Portugal international, called for tolerance and common sense between all parties to resolve the matter in the best way possible.
