Agency, Oct 1: Cristiano Ronaldo has left Portugal’s national team camp ahead of Thursday’s Nations League clash against Denmark.
Ronaldo started Portugal’s opening match against Wales, playing 67 minutes in the team’s 1–0 victory. However, he remained an unused substitute in Portugal’s following 2–1 win over Norway.
Reports of tension between Ronaldo and head coach Jorge Jesus emerged following the Norway game. Before the match, Jesus had indicated that he planned to use the 41-year-old forward at some stage. However, during Wednesday’s press conference, Jesus confirmed that he had already discussed Ronaldo’s role during the international break and that the captain would not feature against Denmark.
Ronaldo had trained separately from his teammates on Monday and Tuesday. Reports also suggested that Ronaldo, Jesus and Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) president Pedro Proença held a meeting to resolve the situation.
Ronaldo later announced his decision to leave the national team camp in a post on social media, saying the decision followed a conversation with the FPF president.
He said he would reveal the reasons behind his departure to the Portuguese people “in due course” and wished Portugal and all of his teammates success in the upcoming matches.
The departure means Ronaldo will miss Thursday’s match against Denmark as well as Portugal’s return fixture against Norway on October 4.
Ronaldo is the leading scorer in men’s international football, with 146 goals for Portugal, and is continuing his pursuit of the landmark of 1,000 career goals.
Portugal currently lead Nations League Group A4 with six points from tw
