Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal career has been thrown into uncertainty after he left the team’s training camp in Copenhagen, shortly after manager Jorge Jesus admitted there had been tension between them.
The 41-year-old departed on Wednesday, one day before Portugal face Denmark in the Nations League. He said on Instagram that he made the decision after Jesus’ press conference and a conversation with Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) president Pedro Proenca.
“Following the national team manager’s press conference, and after a conversation with the President of the Portuguese Football Federation, I have decided to leave the national team’s training camp,” Ronaldo wrote.
“In due course, I will tell all Portuguese people the truth about the reasons behind my departure from the national team, to which I have always been fully committed.
“Now is the time to wish Portugal and all my teammates, without exception, the best of luck.”
The FPF confirmed Ronaldo had left, but said preparations for Thursday’s match against Denmark and Sunday’s home fixture against Norway would continue with the other 24 players.
“The entire squad remains fully focused on the national team’s upcoming fixtures and on achieving the objectives set,” the federation said.
Ronaldo’s exit has raised questions about whether one of the longest international careers in football is approaching its end. It also increases pressure on Jesus, who replaced Roberto Martinez after Portugal’s disappointing World Cup campaign and has taken charge of only two matches.
Portugal’s squad later arrived at their hotel without Ronaldo or Jesus. Reuters reported that Ronaldo’s private jet left Madrid airport at 7.49pm Spanish time for Copenhagen and was scheduled to return to the Spanish capital at 11.30pm local time.
Several Portuguese media outlets said Ronaldo left Parken Stadium minutes after Jesus had finished speaking to reporters. A Bola published video appearing to show the forward leaving in an FPF vehicle after Jesus had told journalists he would train with the squad.
Portugal’s training session started after a short delay, with Ronaldo absent.
Jesus had rejected suggestions that Ronaldo refused to train and urged reporters not to create a dispute.
“He didn’t refuse. He’s going to train today,” Jesus said before the session.
“It’s the fourth day, so he’s going to train. And he didn’t refuse to train. It’s impossible. Do you believe that? Not Cris.”
Although Jesus said there had been no incident, he confirmed he had spoken to Ronaldo.
“They forced me to talk to Cris about an issue that didn’t exist. There was nothing to talk about,” he said.
“He said, ‘I’m here for you to decide. If you want me to play, I’ll play. If you want me to go to the stands, I’ll go’.”
Ronaldo did not feature in Sunday’s 2-1 away win over Norway after Jesus initially said he would use him as a substitute before deciding against it. Ronaldo trained in the gym rather than with the squad on Monday and Tuesday, despite not being injured.
“Ronaldo was angry with me, but as far as I’m concerned, that’s water under the bridge,” Jesus said.
Ronaldo is Portugal’s record scorer with 146 goals and has made a national-record 234 appearances. Last week, he said the media had been trying to “kill” him for years and that he could leave “today” if the manager did not want him in the squad.
