Ronaldo leaves Portugal camp in Copenhagen and faces decision over international future
Cristiano Ronaldo walked out of Portugal's training camp in Copenhagen after being told he would not start the Nations League match against Denmark, leaving the 41-year-old Al-Nassr forward to decide his international future, the episode reported on 5 October 2026.
Ronaldo, who opted to continue with Portugal after the World Cup while Lionel Messi announced his international retirement, has scored 146 goals and won 234 caps for his country, figures the article described as world records; Argentina may yet give Messi a farewell in a home friendly with Benin. Portugal replaced Roberto Martinez with Jorge Jesus after the World Cup; Jesus had worked with Ronaldo at Al-Nassr last season.
The immediate sequence began after Ronaldo started the 1-0 win over Wales and was then told he would be on the bench for the next game against Norway; he was asked to warm up during the second half but remained an unused substitute in a Portugal game for the first time in 18 years and went down the tunnel at the final whistle instead of joining team-mates to greet the fans. Guillem Balague said: "He gets asked to warm up for the whole of the second half, practically. "There are tacit rules in football: you don't do that to Pele, to Diego Maradona, to Lionel Messi, to Cristiano, right? That's what he's seen, that you don't do that to those kind of players." Jesus denied a falling-out publicly but confirmed Ronaldo would not start the next game against Denmark either; Ronaldo then left the training camp and wrote on social media: "In due course, I will tell the truth to all the Portuguese people about my reasons for leaving the national team, to which I have always been dedicated."
Portugal Football Federation president Pedro Proenca flew to Copenhagen, landing at 02:30 in the morning, in an attempt to resolve the situation but was unsuccessful; Proenca said: "He is in the national team on sporting merit, and that must be unquestionable. We have to pay tribute to Ronaldo." After Portugal beat Norway in their final Nations League match without Ronaldo, Jesus said: "If he wants to, he'll return to the national team. We can talk before the next call-up, but Cris is the one who's going to decide. "He's the one who should decide how he wants to end his time with the national team."
Public reaction in Portugal was divided: posters appeared in Lisbon reading in Portuguese "Thank you Cristiano Ronaldo for everything you did for Portugal. You will always be our captain. "Jorge Jesus was not up to the task. Lack of sensitivity. Treating a captain wrongly. Inflated ego." One billboard was placed next to the Estadio da Luz, the home of Benfica, a club the article notes Jesus managed to three league titles. At the Denmark game some fans wore T-shirts spelling out 'Love you Jesus' while others were in Ronaldo merchandise, and videos circulated online of angry supporters ripping up Portugal shirts; Jesus and Proenca were booed leaving a building in Copenhagen. Portugal fan Maria Ribeiro, from Lisbon, said: "It is so hard for all us fans. We all love him but it is getting too much now. It is hard to imagine Portugal without Ronaldo but maybe this is the time. There is too much arguing between ourselves."
Portuguese newspapers provided contrasting headlines: Record, in which Ronaldo owns shares, said "Ronaldo leaves after clash with Jesus"; Jornal de Noticias described it as "the end of a historic era"; Bola called it "A sad goodbye," while Jogo ran with "CR7 turns his back on the national team". Pundits and former players also reacted after Portugal's World Cup exit: BBC pundit Chris Sutton said Ronaldo was "waddling around the pitch like a grandad" following the loss to Spain, while Wayne Rooney wrote: "He is a genius, a superstar. What he has given to football and millions of people is something very rare. "He will be disappointed because he believed he could win this tournament. But time gets us all. It's a sad day for football."
The article also outlined Ronaldo's club-and-country scoring tally and Portugal's recent results without him: his career total across Portugal, Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Al-Nassr was reported as 979 goals, with a target of 1,000 still to reach; Portugal's win percentage without him was given as 64% compared with 63% with him, and they averaged 2.7 goals per game without him versus 2.1 with him. The two biggest wins in Portugal's history — 9-0 over Luxembourg and 9-1 against Armenia — came in qualifying matches he missed through suspension, and journalist Marcus Alves said: "How much gratitude is enough? That's a question that Portuguese fans have been asking for a few years now. "The whole soap opera that seems to follow the mere presence of the 41-year-old striker got to a point where patience was running out. "Of Portugal's last five coaches, Ronaldo had issues with four of them – Carlos Queiroz, Paulo Bento, Fernando Santos and now Jesus. That's too much distraction when Portugal have arguably their best generation ever."
With talks between Ronaldo, his representatives and the Portuguese FA ongoing and Jesus saying the door is open for a return, Portugal are left awaiting the player's choice ahead of their next match against Denmark in November, a decision the article framed as pivotal for how Ronaldo's international career will end.