Ronaldo's sister declares Portugal 'don't deserve' him as his international future hangs in doubt

Cristiano Ronaldo’s international future is in serious doubt after the 41-year-old walked out of the Portugal camp following a meeting with coach Jorge Jesus and the President of the Portuguese Football Federation (PFF), with his sister Elma Aveiro subsequently posting a scathing attack on the national team and the Portuguese public.

Ronaldo had grown frustrated after failing to get off the bench during Portugal’s win over Norway, reportedly storming down the tunnel at full-time. A subsequent showdown meeting with Jesus — his former Al-Nassr manager — and PFF president did not resolve the situation, and Ronaldo confirmed his early departure in a statement posted to social media on Wednesday night.

“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,” Ronaldo wrote. “In time, I will tell all the Portuguese the truth about the reasons that motivated me to leave the national team, to which I always devoted myself. Now is the time to wish Portugal and all my teammates good luck, without exception.”

Ronaldo will now miss Portugal’s upcoming fixtures against Denmark and Norway. Whether his departure from the camp represents a permanent end to his international career — which includes a record 133 goals and 217 caps — has not been officially confirmed.

His sister Elma Aveiro left little ambiguity in her own assessment. In an Instagram post that appeared to signal the end of Ronaldo’s Portugal career, she wrote: “CR7 deserved MORE RESPECT. The national team deserved more structure. Portuguese journalism deserved more competence and less speculation. As for the Portuguese people… they don’t deserve to have the best at anything. We are envious, disrespectful and ignorant, and we deserve to return to the mediocrity we always had in football before CR7. Thank you for everything, CR7. You deserved MORE!”

Jesus, for his part, has sought to play down the drama surrounding Ronaldo’s exit from the tunnel after the Norway match. “There was no incident whatsoever,” the coach said. “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.”

Ronaldo has pledged to give a fuller account of his reasons for leaving in due course, leaving the door technically open to a return — though the tone of both his statement and his sister’s post suggests a definitive break may already have been made.