The Portuguese Football Federation is seeking to resolve its dispute with Cristiano Ronaldo and plans to meet the Portugal captain next week, according to a report by Marca.
The proposed meeting has Ronaldo’s approval and is intended to ease tensions between the player and the federation, as well as with head coach Jorge Jesus. Officials are understood to want the relationship restored to normal and hope to bring the current disagreement to a calm conclusion.
Ronaldo left Portugal’s training camp on Tuesday, a decision that prompted widespread debate in the country. The federation believes the incident should not bring an end to the 40-year-old’s international career and wants to preserve the possibility of him continuing to represent Portugal.
Officials also regard Ronaldo as one of the greatest figures in Portuguese football and believe he deserves an ending that reflects his contribution to the national team, as well as the respect and dignity associated with his career.
The federation issued a statement after Ronaldo’s departure, but made no reference to the dispute. Instead, it highlighted the squad’s preparations for its upcoming fixtures.
“The entire national team delegation remains fully focused on the Portugal national team’s upcoming commitments and on achieving the objectives that have been set,” the statement said.
The federation’s actions had led some observers to believe it was angry with Ronaldo and intended to distance itself from him. Those impressions were strengthened when Rafael Leao wore the number seven shirt in Portugal’s match against Denmark the day after the controversy.
However, Marca reported that the decision was not evidence of a breakdown that officials wanted to leave unresolved. Rather, the federation is attempting to contain the dispute and repair its relationship with Ronaldo.
Portugal’s team officials were also required to give the shirt to another player because of competition regulations. Those rules state that the squad numbers must run from 1 to 23, meaning Ronaldo’s number could not simply remain unused in the matchday squad.
Portugal are preparing for their final fixture of the current international break, against Norway in the fourth round of the UEFA Nations League group stage. The match is scheduled to take place next Sunday.