Cristiano Ronaldo on Wednesday confirmed that he has left the Portugal national team camp, hours after coach Jorge Jesus revealed that the star forward would not start against Denmark in their final group game of the ongoing Nations League in Copenhagen on Thursday.
Ronaldo, the leading goalscorer in international football with 146 goals and a player on the verge of reaching 1,000 career goals, had earlier been benched for Portugal’s game against Norway, which they won 2-1. Ronaldo released a statement on social media announcing his exit.
The 41-year-old also vowed to reveal the truth behind his decision “in due time”, but for now wished his teammates luck ahead of the Denmark game. He has since not trained with the Portugal squad, prompting speculation about a possible rift with Jesus.
The Portuguese federation said only that Ronaldo had left the training camp and that the team’s preparations would continue with the remaining 24 squad members. Earlier in his press conference, Jesus said every player knows that the coach makes the final decision and revealed that Ronaldo had told him he would accept whatever call he made.
“The entire delegation remains fully focused on the national team’s upcoming fixtures and on achieving our goals,” the federation said. Jesus, who worked with Ronaldo for about a year in Saudi Arabia, also said no player would receive special treatment in the squad and that Goncalo Ramos would start ahead of the Al-Nassr star against Denmark, if everything went to plan. Ronaldo had not trained on Wednesday and had reportedly left the training camp, where the team was preparing for the Denmark game.
