Cristiano Ronaldo considered ending his Portugal career after the 2026 World Cup before being persuaded to continue by manager Jorge Jesus, according to Portuguese journalist Nuno Luz.
The claim comes amid a dispute between Ronaldo and Jesus after the Portugal captain remained on the bench for the whole of the Nations League match against Norway, which Portugal won 2-1.
Ronaldo was reportedly unhappy with the decision and refused to take part in training after the game. He later held talks with Jesus, appearing to resolve the disagreement, but tensions returned when the manager said at a news conference before the match against Denmark that neither a player nor anyone else in football would change his thinking.
Ronaldo then left the Portugal camp and travelled to Madrid.
Speaking on the La Tribu programme on Radio Marca, Luz said: “It cannot be the end of Cristiano’s career with Portugal like this. What happened is not good. It leaves a bad impression.”
Luz said he had spoken to Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proenca, who was “very angry” about the situation.
“He said it cannot end like this, because Cristiano has a history. He is part of our history,” Luz added.
According to the journalist, Ronaldo had already been considering not returning to the national team after the 2026 World Cup.
“After the World Cup, Cristiano was thinking about not coming back to the national team; he saw it as the end of the road,” Luz said.
Jesus tried to convince him to remain involved. Luz said the manager called Ronaldo at home every day during the summer, telling him that he was the man responsible for leading the project.
The discussions eventually led to a meeting at Ronaldo’s home in Cascais, where Jesus and Pedro Proenca visited him for coffee.
“Finally, they reached an agreement,” Luz said. “He wanted to play the first match against Wales and the final match against Norway at home on Sunday.”
Luz said the latest dispute began on the day of the Norway game, when Jesus called Ronaldo in the morning to explain that his plans had changed.
“I have changed my mind; you can be an important player and I will put you on for 30 minutes,” Jesus reportedly told him.
Luz believes that promise was the central mistake.
“No manager in the world can promise a player 30 minutes if he is not putting him in the starting line-up,” he said.
The match then developed in a way that led Jesus to abandon the plan, with Portugal needing to protect a 2-1 lead and the circumstances judged unsuitable for Ronaldo.
Ronaldo’s anger prompted an emergency meeting. Pedro Proenca travelled urgently and met Ronaldo and Jesus, who agreed to put the national team first.
“Let’s rejoin the national team. The national team is the most important thing and we will do things properly,” Luz said they agreed.
Jesus accepted that he should not have promised Ronaldo 30 minutes, while the player acknowledged that he needed to be with his team-mates and reached an understanding with the manager.
However, Luz said Ronaldo later expected Jesus to address the matter at his news conference. Ronaldo listened to the conference from inside the stadium, but Jesus said nothing about it.
Luz believes Ronaldo deserves a different end to his Portugal career, including a tribute and a farewell match. He expects Ronaldo to give his version after the current round of international fixtures rather than speak immediately.
