Cristiano Ronaldo accuses Portugal coach Jorge Jesus of breaking promises

Cristiano Ronaldo released a statement on October 6 accusing Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus of twice breaking his word, according to reporting by Al Jazeera and the Irish Times. The 41-year-old forward left the national team's camp in Copenhagen before a Nations League match against Denmark, having also missed a fixture against Norway. [1][2]

Ronaldo explained that Jesus had initially agreed to a plan where the forward would miss the matches to manage his fitness, Al Jazeera, the Irish Times, and the Guardian reported. However, Ronaldo said a failed agreement to publicly explain his omission against Norway ultimately drove him to leave the squad. [1][2][5]

BBC Sport reported that Ronaldo acknowledged committing a breach of the coach's trust and stated he deserves to be punished, but he insisted he is not retiring from international football. The Al-Nassr forward has scored 146 goals in 234 appearances for his country. [4]

As FTMQ News reported earlier, Ronaldo left the squad after being an unused substitute against Norway and learning he would not start against Denmark. Al Jazeera previously reported that Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proenca viewed the dispute as a misunderstanding that could be resolved internally, while Jesus had left the door open for Ronaldo's return. [3][18]