Cristiano Ronaldo stormed out of the Portugal national team camp last week.
A dispute over playing time, after he was left on the bench against Norway, and a suggestion of tension with head coach Jorge Jesus led the Manchester United and Real Madrid legend to walk away.
At 41, the exit could have signalled the end of his international career, but that may not be the case. Talks are reportedly on the horizon, and they may yet see Ronaldo return to the Portuguese national team.
Jesus has made it clear he has no issue with that, saying on Sunday:
“If he wants to, he’ll return to the national team.
“We can talk before the next call-up, but Cris is the one who’s going to decide.
“Cristiano should end his time in the national team the way he wants; he’s the one who will decide how he wants it.
“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.”
Whether the record goalscorer will be back with Portugal for the November international break remains to be seen, but an interesting claim has since surfaced.
Ronaldo’s condition for Portugal return
CNN Portugal journalist Rui Santos, speaking via Foot Mercato, has revealed that Jesus’ comments angered Ronaldo. He said:
“I can tell you that Cristiano Ronaldo was very disappointed by these statements.
“He reportedly made it clear that he will not return to the national team as long as Jorge Jesus is in charge. “The fundamental point is that he believes these statements are not innocent.
“He no longer trusts the coach and points out his contradictions: on the one hand, he expresses a desire to bring him back to play in the Nations League, but on the other hand, he asserts that he doesn’t have to apologise and that he is the one who picks the team.”
Whether the Portuguese Football Federation would sack Jesus to bring Ronaldo back is something we will have to wait and see. However, that looks unlikely given how impressively Portugal have performed under him.
They have played beautiful football, won all four of their opening games under his command, and installed themselves as favourites for the Nations League.
A tough decision had to be made over Ronaldo
In fact, some behind the scenes believe Jesus may have done what his predecessor, Roberto Martínez, should have done at the World Cup.
Ronaldo is not the player he once was. Age has caught up with him; his legs have gone, and he is not as “threatening” as he was.
Featured image by Abdullah Ahmed/Getty Images
