Cristiano Ronaldo has given his own account of events surrounding the Portugal national team’s last training camp, saying he turned down a proposal that would have let him miss matches in Norway and Denmark.
In a first-person statement titled “This is the truth on what has happened with Jorge Jesus,” Ronaldo said he was keeping a promise to recount the circumstances directly.
He revealed that after the 2026 World Cup he prepared a letter to the Portuguese people, which he still holds. It contains the words he wants to address to them when he leaves the team for good.
According to Ronaldo, the president of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) asked him, on the flight home from the United States at the end of the tournament, to reconsider leaving, insisting the federation wanted him to continue.
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The president then asked for his opinion on the current head coach, who was being considered alongside other candidates whose names were not disclosed to him. Ronaldo said he told the president it would be the right choice.
He said he was “genuinely happy” when the coach was presented, and added that the results are confirming it was the right option.
A few days later, Ronaldo said, the new coach contacted him to request an in-person meeting. He agreed, and they scheduled it for the end of his holidays.
The two met at the Cidade do Futebol, where Ronaldo’s club was holding its pre-season camp. There, the coach told him he was counting on him and that his presence was fundamental to the project.
He said the coach presented a plan for his participation: he would play the first and last matches, and for reasons of physical management the coach would always make three to four changes per match.
The coach then raised the possibility that Ronaldo would not travel with the squad to Norway and Denmark. Under the proposal, he would play the first match, stay in Portugal, and rejoin the team before the match at the Dragão.
He said he refused immediately, calling it obvious that he could not accept. He argued that missing matches abroad would not stop him from being the team’s captain, but that the privilege of staying in Portugal “would not be a good example.”
