Cristiano Ronaldo has left the Portugal camp on the eve of their Nations League match against Denmark, departing Copenhagen airport on a private jet he had summoned. The Portuguese Football Federation confirmed the 41-year-old’s exit and said preparations for the games against Denmark and Norway — the latter to be played at the Estádio do Dragão — would continue as planned with the remaining 24 players called up.
Ronaldo had earlier left Parken Stadium before training, apparently having spent the previous two days in a hotel gym. He is believed to have gone only after “clear the air” talks involving himself, head coach Jorge Jesus and Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proença, discussions that appear to have succeeded mainly in creating a denser fog. “In time, I will tell all the Portuguese people the truth,” Ronaldo said.
When Jesus replaced Roberto Martínez as Portugal’s head coach, it had been thought the appointment could spell the end of Ronaldo’s international career. Instead the forward returned for the Nations League opener against Wales, vowing to keep going until he reached 1,000 career goals for club and country. He remains 21 short of that mark, having failed to score in the narrow win over Wales and been an unused substitute in the win over Norway.
Ronaldo had previously said he would have no objection to being “rested” by Jesus. Suspicion now surrounds whether his departure was linked to his coach’s indication that he could again be left out. During media duties shortly before the incident, Jesus denied any suggestion of a rift with a player he had coached at Al-Nassr for a year. “If I need him, he’ll come on,” he said. “If I don’t need him, he won’t.”
With Ronaldo no longer available for selection, uncertainty prevails over his future — or lack of one — in a Portugal shirt. He has 233 caps, the first of them won against Kazakhstan 23 years ago, when he also began on the bench. Whether this episode proves a footnote in that record or marks its end is not yet known.