Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been provisionally suspended by Portugal while the country’s football federation investigates the explosive statement he issued regarding his departure from their squad.
During the recent international break, Ronaldo made headlines by storming out of the Selecao’s camp after Jorge Jesus failed to bring him off the bench during a 2-1 Nations League win in Norway.
Jesus subsequently said he would never allow any player to influence his tactical decisions, and Ronaldo issued a statement addressing his choice to turn his back on the team.
Ronaldo said he will continue to make himself available for selection by his country but accused Jesus of “breaking his word” regarding his involvement in the Norway game.
In his 1,700-word statement, Ronaldo also said his camp had prepared eight points for Jesus to read at a press conference, one of which read: “I made a mistake by putting someone of the stature of Pele or Maradona on to warm up and then not putting him in the game.”
Jesus refused to read those points to the media, which Ronaldo said led directly to his decision to leave the camp.
Now, despite Ronaldo saying he would like to play “one or more farewell matches”, the future of the all-time leading scorer in men’s internationals (with 146 goals in 234 caps) is in major doubt, with the Portuguese Football Federation opening disciplinary proceedings against him.
A statement from the FPF confirmed the initiation of “disciplinary proceedings against Cristiano Ronaldo, with the purpose of the investigation of any disciplinary relevance of the facts revealed on October 7.
“The preventive suspension of the player was determined, and an urgent nature was attributed to the process.”
Ronaldo and Jesus had seemingly enjoyed a strong relationship prior to the row, with the 72-year-old leading Al-Nassr to the Saudi Pro League title last season.
Ronaldo scored 29 goals in 33 appearances under Jesus at club level in 2025-26, averaging one every 99 minutes.
But in his only Portugal outing under Jesus, in a 1-0 win over Wales on September 24, Ronaldo had seven shots with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.03 without scoring – his most attempts without netting in any game since a World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland in October 2025 (also seven).
Since the start of 2025, Portugal have won five of their six games (D1, 83.3% win rate) when Ronaldo has not appeared, compared to 10 of 17 with the forward (D4 L3, 59% win rate).
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