Cristiano Ronaldo has finally explained why he walked away from the Portugal camp, delivering the detailed account he promised when the dispute with Jorge Jesus first erupted. The 41-year-old had said he would tell the Portuguese people what really happened “in due time”, and that moment has now arrived, with Ronaldo setting out the conversations that preceded his departure, the promises he says were made to him, the press conference that changed everything and the reasons he ultimately decided to leave.Ronaldo had played in Portugal’s 1-0 Nations League victory over Wales before becoming an unused substitute in the following 2-1 win against Norway, despite warming up for around 30 minutes. Jesus later explained that he had considered bringing Ronaldo onto the pitch but decided against it, while an emergency meeting involving Ronaldo, the Portugal coach and Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proença took place afterwards.That meeting did not settle the dispute, and Ronaldo left the Portugal camp ahead of the team’s 4-2 victory against Denmark. At the time, he issued a short statement saying that he would eventually reveal the reasons behind his decision, while Portugal continued their campaign without him and went on to win all four of their Nations League matches, taking 12 points from 12 and becoming the first team to secure qualification for the quarter-finals.Jesus subsequently gave his own account after Portugal’s 2-1 victory over Norway, saying Ronaldo remained eligible for selection and that the decision over whether he returned belonged entirely to the player.Ronaldo has now provided his version of events in a lengthy statement posted across his social media channels, taking the story from the aftermath of the 2026 World Cup through to his decision to leave the Portugal camp. The statement comes with Ronaldo back at Al-Nassr, where he has already returned to training following his departure from the national team and is preparing to resume club football.
Ronaldo’s full statement
“As I promised, I have decided to recount, in the first person and directly, the circumstances surrounding the latest stage of the national team’s journey.After the 2026 World Cup, I prepared a message for the Portuguese people, which I still keep, containing the words I would like to address to them when I finally leave our team.At the end of the tournament, on the return flight from the United States, the federation president asked me and insisted that I reconsider my decision to leave, because the Portuguese Football Federation wished for me to continue.Immediately afterwards, he asked me for my opinion on the name of the current national team coach, whom he was considering, alongside other names he did not reveal to me.I answered the federation president that, in my opinion, it would be the ideal choice. Therefore, on the day the current national team coach was presented, I was genuinely happy with this choice. It was the right choice, as the results prove.A few days later, I received the first call from the new national team coach, in which he said he wished to meet me in person. I answered in the affirmative, and we set a date for it. “The end of my holiday.”We met at the football city where my team was holding its pre-season training camp.On that day the coach told me that he was counting on me and that my presence was essential to his project. He presented me with a plan for my immediate participation. He said I would play the first and last matches, and that he would make three or four changes in each match for reasons related to physical fitness.At that point, he suggested that I not travel with the national team to Norway and Denmark. He suggested that I play the first match and stay in Portugal, then join them before the match at the Dragão stadium.I rejected this suggestion immediately. It seemed clear to me that I could not accept it. Not playing the matches abroad would not mean that I would not be captain of our team. The privilege of staying in Portugal would not set a good example.In the end, the coach agreed with my analysis.This conversation was attended by Simo Coutinho, the sporting director of Al-Nassr club, the person to whom the current national team coach reported throughout last season, and one of those responsible for his joining the club in 2025.On the eve of the training camp, the coach came to my home in Lisbon to have another conversation with me at his request. The conversation was calm, and we adhered to all the principles agreed upon in August. I played the match at the Alvalade stadium, and despite being substituted, I caused no problems. I personally placed the captain’s armband on Bruno Fernandes, and it never occurred to me that I might be taking my last steps as a player and captain of the national team. The most important thing that day, for me, was our win. Winning is always a good thing, and in Portugal, and for my country, it is the best.At lunchtime on the day of the match in Norway, the national team coach’s assistant came to the table where the team was having lunch, and told me that the coach wanted to talk to me. To my great surprise, the coach asked me whether I was ready to play 30 minutes. I was fully focused on my physical recovery, blending in with my teammates as usual, and believing I would not play that day. No problem at all.This request was outside my physical recovery and training plan, because I was only going to play on the fourth of the month at the Dragão stadium, but of course I agreed. He answered me that I should be ready because I would play 30 minutes.The rest is well known. I began warming up from half-time, and I watched the minutes pass, and no one called me on. The coach broke his promise.At the end of the match, I only wanted everything to end with a win and to be alone. I did not go to greet the fans. A mistake I take responsibility for alone, and one that should not have happened. I apologise to the Portuguese people who supported us enthusiastically there, I apologise to the fans, and I apologise to those who travelled there to see me, even if they were not Portuguese, and whom I may have let down.Forty-eight hours later, we had a conversation, myself, the coach and Simo Coutinho, because he was following our conversationsIt was a very deep and frank moment, without any reservation.We agreed that there was only one way to end this “case”: that the coach would repeat what he had just told me in private, in the presence of Simo Coutinho, but in the press conference room.The agreement was simple: the coach would begin the press conference with this subject, trying to end the matter by telling the truth. He would say that I had never asked to play even for a few minutes, and that the coach alone, no one else, was the one who proposed the plan for this training camp, and that it had been a mistake to subject me only to the warm-up without playing, and that, if it happened again, he would not do it.We ended that meeting with the coach asking me for a hug, and he promised me that he would say in the press conference what he had just told me, and that the matter had been resolved. I would not play in Denmark, but I would play in the Dragão match. All of this took place in the presence of Simo Coutinho, as usual.At the coach’s request, a video meeting was held between him, Simo Coutinho and Tiago Craveiro, to summarise what we had discussed.A brief document was prepared, which I personally approved, and it was handed to the coach at his request.The meeting was as expected: the behaviour had nothing to do with our meeting. I heard expressions and aggression that I consider unjustified, and an attitude suggesting that he “wants, can, and orders” that he had never shown me, not even indirectly, in a private session, the day before.The notes I reviewed were as follows: I believe it is important, because it is the truth, to clarify some matters before talking about Denmark:
- I personally proposed a plan for Cristiano, without anyone else, for this sporting season with the national team. It was a long and very fruitful conversation.
- I know how much he loves the national team and his global standing, and more than that, how positive his influence has been on the national team over 24 consecutive years.
- The plan I proposed to Cristiano was accepted.
- He never questioned my choices. He was an example to be followed, loyal, and professional.
- The Norway match was not included in the plan I had set for him. However, I felt that he had physically recovered from the first match, and I warned him that I might be forced to bring him on. Cristiano agreed.
- I made a mistake by involving a player of the magnitude of Pelé or Maradona only in the warm-up without involving him in the match. If it were today, I would not do that.
- In short: I want Cristiano in the national team. In truth, I do not want a little, I want a lot. And fortunately, he also trusts me. He believed in me at Al-Nassr and here too.
- As for not greeting the fans, we spoke about this matter earlier. A player who has played more than 230 matches with the national team does not take lessons from me in loving Portugal. It was a moment of frustration that erases nothing. He is the player who signs the most, takes the most selfies, and shows the most affection to the fans. Let us not create problems out of nothing. When we are not happy, we react. That is all there is to it.
None of these notes, therefore, mentioned that the coach had apologised to me.
This was the second time he broke his promise.I decided to leave the training camp without waiting for another promise that would not be kept. For me, the truth remains the most important thing in relationships between people. However painful it may be, I want the truth to be told to me.In fact, in a conversation I had with the president of the Portuguese Football Federation and the coach on the morning of that press conference, you can verify this, I assured them that if they did not want my presence, they should tell me so. They only had to be frank with me. I would have accepted it and promised them that we would prepare something wonderful, as I hope will happen, and no one would be angry.I remember it as if it happened yesterday. They answered with one voice in unison. assuring that my place is in the national team.I have never intervened, at any time, in any technical or tactical decision of any coach or national team official throughout nearly 25 years of my career. I accept, whether it is good or bad, what they propose. I respect the decision, and when they break their promise to me, I feel that my place is not here.I also apologise to my national team teammates for leaving the training camp. For despite my complete breach of the coach’s trust, as everyone who witnessed these conversations can attest, I should not have done that. The responsibility rests on me alone.I apologise to the Portuguese people once again, but the breaking of my promise had a profound effect on me. I felt that my continuing with the team, from that moment, would only harm it, so I did what I always said I would do if I did not feel I was of use: I packed my bags and left.The Portuguese Football Federation must assess the consequences of my actions and punish me for them. I believe the penalty should not be reduced. I am not just an ordinary player; I am the captain of the team, and that is an aggravating factor. I have already apologised, but I know that actions have consequences. Anyone in the world of football, like me, knows that the rules are the same for everyone, regardless of individual standing.In this regard, I have heard a lot about farewell matches, and that I need a farewell befitting me, and that the federation wishes to grant me this opportunity.I learned in life, while suffering from hunger and having nothing to eat, that no one gives anything to anyone for free. I can promise all my fans, and especially the Portuguese people, that we will play 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 competition. That is what I thought of on the day I received the news of my father’s death. I was at a training camp with our national team, and I decided to stay there until the end of the next day’s match. I did for my country what I would never have done for any club.So, if I am physically fit, playing for my club and, hopefully, scoring goals, after serving whatever suspension that will be imposed on me, I will be available, as I always have been, to compete and win with our national team.This, believe me, is the absolute truth.”Cristiano Ronaldo,6 October 2026
