Ronaldo’s unexpected departure

Over the past week, football fans around the world have been following the mysterious saga surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from the Portugal national team.

The legendary 41-year-old striker, a five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or and the all-time leading goalscorer in international football, had started the training camp for the Nations League matches as normal under new manager Jorge Jesus. He even started in Portugal’s victory over Wales on 24 September.

In the following match, against Norway, Ronaldo was seen warming up on the sidelines for 30 minutes, but was ultimately not called upon by Jesus to come on.

After that, he quickly left the training camp and returned home to Madrid, sitting out Portugal’s remaining two matches during the FIFA international break.

Fans wanted to better understand the reason behind this surprising decision, but ended up with access to many reports and little concrete information.

His international team-mates were questioned, but gave no clear answers.

Jorge Jesus himself did not explain very clearly what had happened either.

As for Ronaldo, the most the fans got was a rather cryptic post on Instagram following his departure. In the post, he said he would explain everything in detail when the time was right.

Well… that time has finally come.

Ronaldo reveals what happened

Yesterday (6 October), Ronaldo published the long-awaited explanation in a comprehensive 11-slide post on Instagram, accompanied only by the Portuguese flag emoji in the caption.

The post never mentions Jorge Jesus by name, but details Ronaldo’s version of how his relationship with the manager – with whom he had previously worked at Al-Nassr – eventually broke down.

Ronaldo claims that the 72-year-old manager did not keep his word. According to him, Jesus and the football association convinced him to postpone his planned retirement from the national team, and there was an agreement between the parties regarding his participation in matches. This agreement, however, was allegedly not honoured.

He also expressed frustration at the fact that Jesus allegedly said one thing in private but changed his tune at press conferences, omitting some key points of this agreement.

In the post, Ronaldo says he felt betrayed by the way the situation was handled and presented to the press by Jesus: ‘His behaviour had nothing to do with our meeting. I heard some remarks and a level of aggression that I do not believe I deserve, an air of ‘superiority’ that he had never shown towards me, not even remotely, in private, the day before.’

Ronaldo even mentions that several points had been agreed between the parties for Jesus to explain at a press conference following that fateful match against Norway. In one of the most striking passages of the post, Ronaldo recounts that part of the statement prepared and agreed for Jesus to read to the press drew a comparison between his status in football and that of some of the greatest players of the past: ‘I was wrong to send someone of the calibre of Pelé or Maradona out to warm up and then not put him on the pitch. If it were today, I wouldn’t do that.’

In total, CR7 lists eight specific points that had been agreed between the parties to be mentioned by Jesus at the press conference, but this did not happen in practice.

‘I decided to leave the training camp without waiting for yet another broken promise.’ – Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo then summarised the reason that led him to decide to return home: ‘I decided to leave the training camp without waiting for yet another broken promise. For me, the truth remains the most important thing in relationships between people. However much it hurts, tell me the truth.’

Despite his obvious irritation, he also used the post to apologise to those who, he said, had unwittingly been affected by such a highly publicised crisis, particularly the fans and his international team-mates.

‘I’ve already apologised, but I know that actions must have consequences.’ – Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo also says he will accept any punishment he may receive from the Portuguese Football Federation for leaving early and states that he does not consider himself above the rules because of his status as a football legend: ‘I’ve already apologised, but I know that actions must have consequences. Anyone in football, like me, knows that, regardless of one’s status, the rules are the same for everyone.’

‘I’ll be available, as I’ve always been until now, to compete and win for our national team.’ – Cristiano Ronaldo

Even so, he did not rule out the possibility of returning to the national team for a fitting farewell after serving his suspension: ‘If I’m physically fit, playing for my club, hopefully scoring goals, after serving the suspension imposed on me, I will be available, as I always have been up to now, to compete and win for our national team.’

The case causes a stir

The statement is a major blow for Jesus, who, despite the whole situation, has been doing an excellent job in charge of the national team, leading Portugal to four wins in their first four matches under his leadership.

Pressure is also mounting from other quarters.

Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes, a nominee for the 2026 ‘Ballon d’Or’, recently expressed his admiration for Ronaldo: “Cristiano Ronaldo deserves the respect of all Portuguese people, regardless of whether they like him more or less.” (Terra)

Another of Ronaldo’s international team-mates, João Cancelo, also expressed his admiration for the star in light of recent events: “Cristiano is our captain, a symbol of our national team and the best player Portugal has ever had.” (GE)

Another team-mate, Nuno Mendes, who has been nominated for the 2026 ‘Ballon d’Or’, went a step further and said that Ronaldo would be very welcome should he decide to return: “If he comes back, we’ll be here to welcome him with open arms.” (GE)

“Hats off to you, Cristiano!” – Zinedine Zidane

The wave of support for Ronaldo has also gained momentum outside Portugal and spread across the globe. The manager of the French national team and 1998 World Cup winner, Zinedine Zidane – who previously managed Ronaldo at Real Madrid – spoke about CR7 at his press conference amidst all this attention: “We must acknowledge his great career. I was lucky enough to coach him, and he helped me win many titles. Hats off to you, Cristiano! I’ve always had great respect for those with whom I’ve shared my time.” (GE)

It is clear that the pressure on Jesus and the Portuguese Football Federation has only increased.

So much so that Pedro Proença, the federation’s president, also spoke about the situation, reiterating his respect and admiration for Ronaldo: “Cristiano Ronaldo is in the national team on his own merit. That is beyond question, and he will always be part of this squad as long as he is physically fit. Ronaldo knows that this is how we feel. On this matter, we are clearly dealing with a misunderstanding that needs to be resolved internally.” (GE)

“This was a misunderstanding and, in my opinion, it’s easy to resolve. As far as I’m concerned, everything’s fine.” – Jorge Jesus

Jesus agrees that the situation was a misunderstanding and that Ronaldo is more than welcome back in the national team, should he wish to return: “If he’s playing and wants to be in the national team, he can come back whenever he likes. Why not? This was a misunderstanding and, in my opinion, it’s easy to sort out. As far as I’m concerned, everything’s fine. [...] As there was nothing out of the ordinary regarding my authority, as far as I’m concerned, for the next squad selection, if Cris is playing for Al-Nassr, he’ll be eligible for selection. If he wants to come back, he’ll come back.” (GE)

“I’m not apologising to anyone.” – Jorge Jesus

He also refused, however, to apologise for the tactical decision to leave Ronaldo out of the match against Norway after sending him out to warm up: “Just because it was him, this issue arose, because he’s an icon – the issue of warming up and not coming on. This happens to all players. How many warmed up today and didn’t come on? It’s always like that. Cris is different because he’s an icon, but for me, it wasn’t a problem. It’s up to Cris to decide. I won’t apologise to anyone. The problem was the fact that the player warmed up. Why apologise? To whom?” (GE)

What happens now?

There are reports that the federation tried to organise a reconciliation meeting between Jesus and Ronaldo, with the manager’s agreement, but the meeting has not yet taken place.

It’s unclear what happens next, but fans can at least breathe a sigh of relief knowing that Ronaldo hasn’t retired from the national team.

At 41, with 146 goals and three titles for Portugal, he is not yet ready to hang up his boots.

We do not yet know when he will return, as this depends on a possible reconciliation between him, the federation and Jorge Jesus, as well as the length of his suspension.

But one thing seems certain: he will be back.