Key Takeaways
- Cristiano Ronaldo abruptly left Portugal’s national team camp after speaking with Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proença, promising to eventually “tell all the Portuguese people the truth” about his decision.
- Ronaldo remained on the bench throughout Portugal’s 2-1 win over Norway, while coach Jorge Jesus said they had reached an agreement regarding his playing status.
- Despite the tense exit ahead of Portugal’s match against Denmark, Ronaldo urged supporters to back the squad and wished his teammates good luck.
Cristiano Ronaldo has said that he will “tell all the Portuguese the truth” — eventually — in a statement announcing his sudden departure from his country’s national team camp.
In a statement shared on Instagram on Wednesday (Sep. 30), Cristiano said he reached his decision after a conversation with Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proenca.
“In time, I will tell all the Portuguese people the truth about the reasons that led to my departure from the national team, to which I have always dedicated myself,” the statement reads.
His departure comes after he never came off the bench in Portugal’s 2-1 victory over Norway on Sunday. According to ESPN, the announcement was preceded by Portugal head coach Jorgue Jesus stating he had no plans on playing Cristiano in the national team’s next match against Denmark on Thursday.
Ali Rampling and Guillermo Rai of The Athletic reported that a “crisis” meeting involving Cristiano, Jesus, and Proenca took place before the announcement. Ronaldo seemingly confirmed the meeting in his statement.
Jesus told reporters on Wednesday that he and Cristiano had an agreement about him not playing on Sunday and Thursday. Jesus claimed he was reassured by Ronaldo that the decision to start or come off the bench belonged to the Portugal head coach.
As for why Cristiano did not appear at all, Jesus said he believed there never came a moment where he was needed.
“It’s just that the game tells me what I have to do,” he said. “We had agreed that maybe I would need him at the end of the game, but the game told me a different story and I ended up not putting him on.”
Despite apparently leaving the national team on bad terms, Cristiano made sure to tell his supporters to remain loyal to the squad.
“Now is the time to wish good luck to Portugal and to all my teammates,” he said.
