Ronaldo leaves Portugal Nations League camp, says will reveal ‘truth in time’ - The Indian Express
Cristiano Ronaldo on late Wednesday night said that he has left the Portugal national team training camp ahead of the country’s remaining Nations League matches, set for October 2 and October 5. In Portugal’s match vs Norway on Monday, Ronaldo was named on the bench by coach Jorge Jesus but did not play any part in the match, remaining as an unused substitute. Last week, he started in the match vs Wales but was hauled off at half time.
In a press conference on Wednesday, coach Jesus said that he was not planning to start Ronaldo in Portugal’s game against Denmark in the Nations League on Thursday, adding that there is no feud between the pair. After the said press conference, Ronaldo put out a post on Instagram saying that he would be leaving the Portugal camp which was preparing for the upcoming Nations League matches.
“After the press conference of the national team, and following a conversation with the President of the Portuguese Football Federation, I have decided to leave the national team training camp. In time, I will tell all the Portuguese the truth about the reasons that motivated me to leave the national team, to which I always devoted myself. Now is the time to wish Portugal and all my teammates good luck, without exception,” Ronaldo posted on Instagram.
Ronaldo did not practice on Wednesday, though, and reportedly left the stadium where the team was preparing for the match. Jesus said in the pre-game news conference that every player knows the coach makes the decisions, and that Ronaldo told him he would abide with whatever choices he makes.
The coach added the “rules are the same for everyone” and that Goncalo Ramos would start up front against Denmark if everything went to plan. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the game,” Jesus said. “If we need him (Ronaldo) to play (at some point), he’ll play. If not, he won’t.”
Ronaldo, the all-time leading scorer in men’s international soccer with 146 goals and pursuing the milestone of 1,000 career goals, didn’t play on Sunday in Portugal’s 2-1 win over Norway. He has not trained with the rest of the group since, sparking widespread rumors about a possible feud with Jesus. Jesus, who worked with Ronaldo for about a year in Saudi Arabia, said the player did not refuse to practice after having been left on the bench.
“It seems like there was an issue between us, but there was no issue,” Jesus said. “I’m the one who makes the decisions and everybody knows that.” Jesus acknowledged he had told Ronaldo he would likely play against Norway, but changed his mind because of the circumstances of the match.
He said it was a mistake to send Ronaldo to warm up for as long as he did and then not use him. Jesus added “any player” would be upset about that.
But Jesus did not apologize for telling Ronaldo that he was likely to play. “I can promise whatever I want, I’m the coach,” Jesus said. “No player will ever make a decision for me.” Jesus said, though, that someone with the stature of Ronaldo deserved a different type of attention from coaches “because of his career and history in football.”
Jesus, who took over the squad from Roberto Martinez after the World Cup, said he ended up being “obligated” to have a meeting with Ronaldo because of the noise created in Portugal over the situation.
But he maintained there was no “Ronaldo case” to talk about and there was nothing to solve between him and the player because nothing was wrong.
Jesus said it was normal that the federation president, Pedro Proenca, also met with the pair. “We had to talk the three of us, but I had already talked with Chris and the president didn’t have to solve anything because there was nothing to solve,” Jesus said.
