Ronaldo refuses to return to Portugal squad while Jorge Jesus remains manager

Cristiano Ronaldo will not return to the Portugal national team while Jorge Jesus is in charge: this is the condition set by the 41-year-old striker, according to journalist Rui Santos on CNN Portugal on Monday evening.

The crisis erupted after the match against Norway, in which Ronaldo remained on the bench for the entire game despite an extended warm-up. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner left the Seleção gathering immediately after, triggering a drama that has shaken Portuguese football.

The president of the Portuguese Football Federation, Pedro Proença, attempted to defuse the situation after the second match against Norway on Sunday evening, describing the matter as a simple “misunderstanding” to be resolved internally. Jorge Jesus maintained that his decision was purely tactical and that there had been “no incident” with Ronaldo, while refusing to apologize for his sporting choices. The manager nevertheless clarified that the door remained open to CR7, provided he accepted his authority.

It is precisely this stance that reportedly sparked the conflict. According to Rui Santos, Ronaldo is “extremely unhappy with the way this entire matter has been handled” and was “particularly outraged” by his manager’s public statements. The player would not tolerate the contradiction between the stated desire to see him return for the Nations League and Jesus’s assumed stance of authority — “nobody needs to apologize, I’m the one who picks the team”.

The ball is now in the Portuguese Football Federation’s court, which will have to choose between its current manager and its most-capped player in history. The Nations League resumes in the coming weeks, and the question of Ronaldo’s return remains open.