Cristiano Ronaldo delivers on his promise to explain why he walked out on the Portugal camp as he accuses head coach Jorge Jesus of broken promises and apologises to his team-mates and the people of Portugal in a near 2,000-word statement to his 679m Instagram followers Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Cristiano Ronaldo has broken his silence over his Portugal walkout in a lengthy statement in which he says he is not retiring from the national team. The 41-year-old, whose actions had raised doubts over his international future, accused Portugal’s new head coach Jorge Jesus of broken promises in a near 2,000-word statement to his 679 million Instagram followers. Addressing the uncertainty over his Portugal future, the Al Nassr forward said: “If I am physically well, playing for my club, with goals I hope, after serving the suspension that may be applied to me, I will be available, as I have always been until today, to compete and win for our national team.” Portugal boss Jesus, who previously denied there was a rift between him and his captain, said on Sunday the door was still open for Ronaldo to return to the national team. However, the future of Portugal’s record goalscorer and appearance-maker, whose 146 goals in 234 international caps is the most of any men’s player in history, is far from clear following his decision to air his grievances in public.
Ronaldo, who reveals in his statement that he wrote his international retirement letter after the World Cup, has apologised for his actions but asked the Portuguese Football Federation to punish him and spare him any leniency. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner delivered his statement, which spanned 11 slides on Instagram, a matter of hours before his great rival Lionel Messi was due to bid farewell to international football in an emotional send-off in Argentina. Sky Sports News has approached the Portuguese Football Federation for comment. Ronaldo left the national team squad in Copenhagen on the eve of a Nations League fixture against Denmark after he was an unused substitute for a 2-1 win away to Norway on September 27.
The Portugal captain chose not to applaud the travelling fans with his team-mates, for which he apologises in his statement, and reports subsequently emerged of a rift between Ronaldo and Jesus. Ronaldo claims in his statement that Jesus had told him he would play 30 minutes against Norway on the day of the game only to go back on his word. “Everyone knows the rest. I warmed up from half-time onwards, watched the minutes tick by and wasn’t called on,” Ronaldo said.
“The coach had broken his word to me.” On failing to show his appreciation to the fans, Ronaldo added: “At the end of the match I only wanted everything to finish with the victory and to be alone. A failing that is solely my responsibility and that should not have happened. “I apologise to the Portuguese who supported us intensely there, I apologise to the fans, and I apologise to those who, without being Portuguese, may have travelled there to see me and whom I may have disappointed.” Ronaldo and Jesus, who used to work together at Al Nassr, subsequently held a meeting, which was also attended by the sporting director of the Saudi Pro League club, Simao Coutinho. According to Ronaldo’s statement, Jesus agreed to clarify the situation and say that his captain never demanded minutes and that it was a mistake to let him warm up without bringing him on.
Ronaldo says an eight-point document was drawn up to summarise what had been discussed in a subsequent meeting between Jesus, Al Nassr sporting director Coutinho and Tiago Craveiro, the player’s strategic adviser. However, Ronaldo felt the Portugal head coach’s press conference bore no reflection to the conversation they had shared, which he claims ended in Jesus asking him for a hug. “I heard expressions and an aggressiveness that I do not believe I deserved, an attitude of ‘I want, I can and I command’ that he never showed me, not even remotely, in private the day before,” said Ronaldo. He added: “It was the second time he had broken his word to me.
I decided to leave the training camp without waiting for any further broken promises.” Jesus denied that any such agreement had been made with the player in a later press conference. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Ronaldo admitted he never should have left the Portugal camp “despite the absolute breach of trust” from Jesus. “Never, at any moment, have I interfered in any technical or tactical decision of any coach or national team manager in almost 25 years of career,” said Ronaldo. “I accept, for better or worse, what they propose that I do.
I respect the decision, and when they break their word to me, I feel that my place is not there.” He added: “I felt that, from that point on, my remaining would only harm the working group, and I did what I have always said I would do if I did not feel useful: I packed my bags and left.” Ronaldo apologised to his team-mates and the Portuguese people over his departure from the squad and said he will accept whatever punishment is handed down to him by the Portuguese Football Federation. The forward said he hopes his international career will not be limited to a farewell but promised he would end his Portugal career in the right way. Ronaldo added: “I can promise all my fans, naturally and especially all Portuguese people, that we will have one or more farewell matches; there will be time for that. But when I think of the national team, what I really think of is competing.
“That is what I thought on the day I was given the news of my father’s death. I was at a camp with our national team and I decided to stay there until the end of the match the following day. I did for the country what I would never do for any club.” Ronaldo publicly admitted earlier in this international break that he considered retiring from international football following the World Cup. His statement on Instagram reveals that he had written his retirement statement only to be talked out of it by the president of the Portuguese Football Federation Pedro Proença on the plane back from North America.
Ronaldo says Proença then asked him for his opinion on his former head coach at Al Nassr Jesus becoming Portugal’s next manager. “I told [him] that, in my opinion, it would be the right choice,” Ronaldo said. “That is why, on the day the current head coach was presented, I was genuinely happy with the choice. It was the right option, as the results are confirming.” Play Super 6 for a chance to win £1m!
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