Cristiano Ronaldo clarifies his situation and opens the door to returning to Portugal: "This is what happened with Jorge Jesus"

Cristiano Ronaldo has broken his silence regarding the circumstances that led to him being benched for the entire Nations League match against Norway and his subsequent departure from the Portuguese national team. In a detailed letter, Ronaldo addresses the situation with coach Jorge Jesus, aiming to set the record straight directly with the Portuguese public.

The controversy erupted when Ronaldo remained on the bench for the entire match against Norway. Instead of celebrating with his teammates, he went straight to the locker room. This was followed by him skipping training sessions, prompting an urgent trip to Copenhagen by the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, Pedro Proença. The day before the game against Denmark, Jesus announced Gonçalo Ramos would start, and Ronaldo left the stadium alone while his teammates trained, abandoning the team camp. Public opinion largely sided with Ronaldo, with protests in Lisbon criticizing the coach's handling of the captain.

Ronaldo revealed he had already prepared a letter for the Portuguese people to be released upon his eventual departure from the national team. He wrote this after Portugal's World Cup elimination by Spain, stating that on the flight back, the Federation President insisted he reconsider his decision to leave, as the FPF wished for him to stay.

The star forward also admitted to being consulted on the choice of Martinez's successor. He confirmed that the Federation President sought his opinion on a potential coach, and Ronaldo gave his approval, believing it to be the right choice, which he feels the results have since proven.

Ronaldo consistently supported the decision to appoint Jorge Jesus, who had previously coached him at Al Nassr. He recounts his first phone call with the new national team coach, who expressed a desire to meet in person. During their meeting at the City of Football, where Ronaldo's team was in pre-season camp, the coach stated that Ronaldo was fundamental to his project and presented a plan involving rotational play. According to Ronaldo, the plan was for him to play the first and last matches of the current international break, with substitutions made for physical management reasons. This would have meant playing against Wales and potentially Norway, but missing the away game against Haaland's team and the match against Denmark.

Ronaldo stated he immediately rejected the coach's suggestion not to travel with the team to Norway and Denmark, finding the proposal unacceptable. He argued that not playing away games didn't mean he would cease to be captain and that accepting such a privilege to stay in Portugal would set a poor example. He noted that the coach eventually agreed with his assessment.

The letter also mentions Simão Coutinho, the sporting director of Al Nassr since July 2025, who was present during this conversation. Coutinho was the person the current coach referred to last season and was instrumental in his hiring by the club in 2025. The coach later visited Ronaldo's home in Lisbon for another discussion at his request before the team camp began.