Jesus opens door for Ronaldo return after Portugal walk-out controversy

Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus has publicly invited Cristiano Ronaldo to return to the national squad after the 41-year-old’s controversial departure last week, saying the decision rests entirely with the forward.

Ronaldo left the Portugal camp after being an unused substitute in their 2-1 Nations League victory away to Norway on 27 September — a snub that sparked a public disagreement and cast doubt over whether the record international scorer would ever represent his country again.

Speaking at his press conference following Sunday’s 2-1 home win against Norway, Jesus left the door firmly open. “If he wants to, he’ll return to the national team,” the coach said. “We can talk before the next call-up, but Cris is the one who’s going to decide. In my first call-up, I said, ‘I need you, I need you to be close to me, playing or not playing, I need you’. And now I’m saying the same thing.”

Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner who holds the record of 146 goals in 234 appearances for Portugal, had started the opening Nations League win over Wales before being benched in Oslo. The Al Nassr forward subsequently published a statement on Instagram confirming his exit from the squad and promising to reveal the full story in due course.

“After the press conference of the national team, and following a conversation with the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, I have made the decision to leave the national team training camp,” Ronaldo wrote. “In due course, I will tell all the Portuguese people the truth about the reasons that led me to leave the national team, to which I always dedicated myself.”

The situation had been further complicated by an unannounced visit from Pedro Proenca, the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, which fuelled reports of a rift — reports Jesus attempted to play down at the time.

In Ronaldo’s absence, Portugal responded emphatically, beating Denmark 4-2 before securing the victory over Norway to maintain a perfect record. They sit top of Nations League Group Four with 12 points from four games, leaving Jesus in a strong position to negotiate any potential return on his own terms.