Cristiano Ronaldo accuses Jorge Jesus of broken promises and leaves Portugal training camp

Cristiano Ronaldo accused Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus of breaking his word in Copenhagen before Portugal’s Nations League match against Denmark last week, and said the dispute led him to leave the national team’s training camp. In a lengthy statement the 41-year-old set out his version of events around his omission against Norway.

Ronaldo said Jesus had agreed a plan under which he would miss the Norway and Denmark matches to manage his fitness, but 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.”

He said a subsequent meeting with Jesus, attended by Al-Nassr’s sporting director Simão Coutinho, produced an agreement that Jesus would clarify the situation at his next press conference. According to Ronaldo, an eight-point document was prepared saying he had never demanded playing time, that he had respected Jesus’s decisions and that asking him to warm up without bringing him on had been a mistake.

Ronaldo said the agreed notes did not require Jesus to apologise but that 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.”

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 was later asked for comment about Ronaldo’s statement.

Ronaldo apologised for failing to greet supporters after the Norway match and for leaving his teammates, adding 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 with the coach, Ronaldo said he was not restricting his international plans to a farewell appearance.

The Portuguese Football Federation did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Ronaldo’s statement, and the forward added: “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.