Cristiano Ronaldo has said he has no intention of retiring from international football but admitted that he should face punishment for leaving Portugal’s training camp after what he described as a breach of trust by head coach Jorge Jesus.
The 41-year-old Portugal captain left the team’s Nations League camp after remaining an unused substitute against Norway and later learning that he would not start against Denmark.
Ronaldo, who plays for Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr, is Portugal’s all-time leading scorer and appearance holder, with 146 goals in 234 international appearances. He has helped the country win the 2016 European Championship and the UEFA Nations League twice.
In a lengthy statement posted on Instagram on Tuesday, Ronaldo accepted responsibility for leaving the squad and said the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) should punish him for his actions.
He also gave his account of the events leading to his departure, saying Jesus had initially assured him that he would play Portugal’s first and final matches during the international window, while managing his minutes in between.
According to Ronaldo, the coach later asked him during the team’s stay in Norway whether he could play for 30 minutes, despite an earlier agreement that he would not feature in that match.
Ronaldo said he agreed to the request but was eventually left on the bench after warming up from half-time.
“The coach had broken his word to me,” he said.
The Portugal captain said he later met Jesus and Simão Coutinho, Al-Nassr’s sporting director, to resolve the matter.
Ronaldo claimed they agreed that Jesus would publicly clarify that Ronaldo had not asked to play and that the decision to have him warm up without introducing him had been the coach’s.
He said Jesus also promised that he would not repeat the incident.
However, Ronaldo alleged that the coach’s subsequent press conference did not reflect what had been agreed during their private meeting.
“The conference was what is known: the posture had nothing to do with our meeting; I heard expressions and an aggressiveness that I do not believe I deserved,” Ronaldo said.
He described the coach’s public approach as an attitude of “I want, I can and I command”, saying Jesus had never displayed such behaviour during their private conversations.
Ronaldo also apologised for failing to greet supporters after Portugal’s match in Norway, saying the decision was his responsibility.
“I apologise to the Portuguese who supported us intensely there, I apologise to the fans, and I apologise to those who, without being Portuguese, may have travelled there to see me and whom I may have disappointed,” he said.
Despite the dispute, Ronaldo stressed that he remains committed to Portugal and has not decided to end his international career.
He said he had previously prepared a farewell letter for the Portuguese people to be delivered when he eventually leaves the national team but indicated that the time had not yet come.
“I myself, and no one else, proposed to Cristiano a plan for him this sporting season with the National Team. It was a long and very good conversation.
“I know how much he lives and loves the national team and the weight he has in the world, and even more the weight and the positive influence he has had on the national team for 24 consecutive years.
“The plan I proposed to Cristiano was accepted. He never questioned my options. He was exemplary, loyal and professional.
“The match in Norway was not part of the plan I drew up for him. However, I felt that he had managed to recover physically from the first match and I warned him that I might have to use him. Cristiano agreed.
“I made a mistake by putting someone of the stature of Pelé or Maradona on to warm up and then not putting him in the game. If it were today I would not do it.
To close the subject: I want Cristiano in the National Team. In fact I do not want him a little, I want him a lot. Fortunately he also believes in me. He believed at Al Nassr and he does here as well.
“About not greeting the fans. We have already spoken about that. Someone who has played more than 230 matches for the national team does not receive lessons from me on love for Portugal. It was a moment of frustration that erases nothing. He is the player who gives the most autographs, takes the most selfies, and shows the most affection to the fans. Let us not invent problems where they do not exist. When we are not happy we react. That was all.
“None of these notes, therefore, said that the coach should even apologise to me. It was the second time he had broken his word to me.
“I decided to leave the camp without waiting for any further breach of word. For me the truth is still the most important thing in the relationship between people. However much it hurts, let them tell me the truth.
“In fact, in a conversation I had with the President of the FPF and with the coach on the morning of the day of that press conference — they can certainly confirm this — I reaffirmed that if they did not want me there they should tell me. It was enough for them to be frank with me. I would accept that and I promised that we would prepare something beautiful, as I dream will happen, and no one would be left angry.
“I remember it as if it were today. They replied in unison that no. That my place was in the National Team.
“Never, at any moment, have I interfered in any technical or tactical decision of any coach or national team manager in almost 25 years of career.
“I accept, for better or worse, what they propose that I do. I respect the decision, and when they break their word to me, I feel that my place is not there.
“I also owe an apology to my national team teammates for having left the camp.
“Despite the absolute breach of trust in the coach’s word, as those who witnessed these conversations can attest, I should not have done it. The responsibility is exclusively mine.
“I apologise to the Portuguese people once again, but the breaking of one’s word has, for me, a defining impact. I felt that, from that point on, my remaining would only harm the working group, and I did what I have always said I would do if I did not feel useful: I packed my bags and left.
“The consequence of this act of mine must be assessed and punished by the Portuguese Football Federation. I understand that the punishment should have no mitigating factors. I am not just any player; I am team captain, and that constitutes an aggravating factor.
“I have already apologised, but I know that attitudes must have consequences. Anyone who is in football as I am knows that, regardless of each person’s status, the rules are the same for everyone.
“On this subject, I have heard a great deal of talk about farewell matches, that I must have a dignified farewell and that the Federation wants to give me that opportunity.
“I learned in life, often hungry and with nothing to eat, that no one gives anything to anyone.
“I can promise all my fans, naturally and especially all Portuguese people, that we will have one or more farewell matches; there will be time for that.
“But when I think of the national team, what I really think of is competing. That is what I thought on the day I was given the news of my father’s death.
“I was at a camp with our national team and I decided to stay there until the end of the match the following day. I did for the country what I would never do for any club.
“Therefore, if I am physically well, playing for my club, with goals I hope, after serving the suspension that may be applied to me, I will be available, as I have always been until today, to compete and win for our national team.
“This is, believe me, the purest of truths.”
