Ronaldo’s Portugal future in doubt after he leaves camp in Copenhagen

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal future is in doubt after the 41-year-old left the squad’s camp in Copenhagen, according to AFP. Portugal went on to beat Denmark 4-2 in the Nations League on Thursday without him. The Ronaldo Portugal future question is now open.

Why Ronaldo left the Portugal camp

AFP reports that Ronaldo announced late on Wednesday that he had left the team. That came shortly after coach Jorge Jesus confirmed at a press conference that he would not start for a second consecutive Nations League game.

In a statement on Instagram, Ronaldo said: “Following the national team coach’s press conference, and after having a conversation with the Portuguese Football Federation president, I decided to leave the national team’s training camp.” He added that he would tell “the truth to all the Portuguese people about my reasons” “in due course”.

AFP says he appeared to hint at leaving the national team. He has not announced that he is retiring from international football, so the Ronaldo Portugal future is in doubt rather than decided.

What Jorge Jesus said

Earlier on Wednesday, Jesus insisted there was no rift between him and Ronaldo. The 72-year-old, who took the job in July, acknowledged that his captain felt disappointed to sit on the bench against Norway. Any change to the Ronaldo Portugal future now depends on what the player says next.

Ronaldo spent the whole of Sunday’s 2-1 Nations League win in Norway on the bench. He had captained Portugal in the 1-0 home win over Wales the previous Thursday.

Cristiano Ronaldo playing for Portugal. Archive photo from 2010, not from the Denmark trip. Photo: Ludovic Péron, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Reaction and what is still unclear about the Ronaldo Portugal future

AFP reports that the Spanish daily Marca said Jesus and federation president Pedro Proença followed Ronaldo to Copenhagen airport to try to persuade him to stay, before the player boarded his private jet. That detail is Marca’s account as relayed by AFP, and we have not seen it confirmed elsewhere.

The news set off a wave of memes on social media and a furious reaction from Ronaldo’s sister, Elma Aveiro, according to AFP. Ronaldo has not yet given his own explanation, so his reasons and any decision on the Ronaldo Portugal future debate remain open.

Read the full AFP report for more detail.

More on the Portugal captain in our Cristiano Ronaldo news section.