The former Manchester United and Real Madrid man has been prolific in the Saudi Pro League with Al Nassr, but in recent outings for Portugal he’s looked off the pace and almost like a hindrance to his teammates.
Still, Ronaldo was clearly not happy with Jesus failing to introduce him against Norway, leading to him storming down the tunnel and departing the national team squad.
Cristiano Ronaldo statement on Portugal exit
“After the press conference of the national team and following a conversation with the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, I have decided to leave the national team training camp,” Ronaldo said in a statement on Instagram, as quoted by BBC Sport.
“In time, I will tell all the Portuguese the truth about the reasons that motivated me to leave.”
Meanwhile, Portugal boss Jesus is also quoted as saying: “There was no incident whatsoever.
“Any player – and I was a player myself – when you spend 20 or 30 minutes warming up and then don’t get on, no-one is happy about that.”
He added: “If I need , he’ll come on. If I don’t need him, he won’t.”
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This certainly sounds like it has the potential to blow up further, as Jesus isn’t bowing to the pressure to play Ronaldo when other managers might have spared themselves these unwanted headlines.
Ronaldo surely won’t let it go easily, though, so it will be interesting to see what he says in the coming days.
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