On Sunday, Portugal’s national team beat Norway by two goals, securing a place in the Nations League quarter-finals.
The group stage of the competition was overshadowed by the controversy involving Cristiano Ronaldo and head coach Jorge Jesus, which ended with the captain leaving the training camp. As a result, the world followed with great curiosity what would happen next, in particular to see what Portugal’s national team would look like without Cristiano Ronaldo.
While, regarding the team, Jorge Jesus said he “didn’t have much to say” because “the results spoke for themselves”, when it comes to Cristiano Ronaldo there is still plenty to discuss.
In the flash interview after the win over Norway, Jorge Jesus expressed his satisfaction with the “four wins from four matches” and said it was now a matter of waiting for the “last two games in the next international window”.
That was the perfect cue for the RTP journalist to ask about the future of Cristiano Ronaldo. Hesitating, the Portugal coach replied that “everything is open” and that the captain has to “decide his own future”.
Jorge Jesus added that if Cristiano is still playing and wants to be in the national team, he sees no reason why he should not be, but that it is not his decision alone. The coach insisted he bore no resentment and said it had all been “a misunderstanding”.
A few minutes later, at the press conference, he was again asked whether he was considering a return for Cristiano either to “say goodbye” or to “compete”. Jorge Jesus stressed that Cristiano Ronaldo, “if he is still playing for Al Nassr, will be eligible for selection” and that if “he wants to return to the national team”, the door will be open.
Jesus played down the fact that he sent Cristiano Ronaldo to warm up against Norway without bringing him on, saying that “it happens to every player”, but admitted that with Ronaldo it was “different”, perhaps because he is a “symbol”.
He also recalled a conversation he had with Cristiano Ronaldo before this call-up, when he told him that a player like him “could not end his time with the national team by losing a World Cup and in tears”, and said he agreed with Bruno Fernandes, the Portugal midfielder, who at Saturday’s press conference had said the captain deserved to finish “on a day of celebration”.
Confronted with claims that Cristiano Ronaldo left the camp because a public apology at the press conference had been “pre-agreed” but never happened, as revealed by Edu Aguirre on the Spanish sports show El Chiringuito, Jorge Jesus angrily said it was “a lie” and that he did not have to apologise to anyone.
The player has not yet responded to the coach’s latest statements and has remained more discreet on social media. His last post, four days ago, confirmed that he had left the national team camp.
The next set of fixtures will be in November, first against Denmark at the Braga Stadium and then against Wales in Cardiff.
“We are talking about the greatest player of all time”
The president of the Portuguese Football Federation, Pedro Proença, also played down the situation, calling it a “misunderstanding” and offering fulsome praise for the captain.
“We are talking about the greatest player of all time, a player who has devoted more than two decades to Portuguese football. He will always be part of this team, as long as he is technically able to play. Cristiano knows that. He knows that is how we feel,” he told RTP.
Pedro Proença went on to say that Cristiano Ronaldo could have ended his career after the World Cup but, “because of the love he has for his national team”, chose not to.
“We will have time and calm to sit down together in the coming weeks and resolve this misunderstanding,” the official concluded.