Ronaldo leaves Portugal before Denmark match and risks six-month ban

Cristiano Ronaldo left the Portuguese national team camp without official justification on the eve of the Denmark match, after publicly expressing his dissatisfaction with head coach Jorge Jesus. This late-night departure aboard his private jet places the 41-year-old player in direct violation of the Portuguese Football Federation’s (FPF) disciplinary regulations.

Article 160 of the FPF regulations is explicit: any player duly called up who abandons a camp or official activity without legitimate justification faces a suspension of one to six months. More immediately, paragraph two of the same article provides for an automatic precautionary suspension as soon as the abandonment is established, pending the disciplinary commission’s ruling on the matter. A financial penalty is added, though symbolic given the player’s wealth.

This disciplinary procedure could formally end the international career of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who has spent more than two decades wearing the Seleçao shirt. Ronaldo could, however, get ahead of it: according to Portuguese newspaper O Jogo, his decision to end his international career is already made, “definitive” and “irrevocable”.

If international retirement is not announced before the commission meets, the FPF will find itself forced to apply its own regulations to the player who remains the best goalscorer in international competition history.