Cristiano Ronaldo has given his account of the events that led to his departure from the Portugal national team camp, accusing head coach Jorge Jesus of breaking his word to him on two occasions.
In a lengthy statement posted on X on Tuesday, the 41-year-old Portugal captain said he wanted to “recount, in the first person and directly, the circumstances surrounding the last training camp of the National Team.”
Ronaldo said he had prepared a farewell letter to the Portuguese public after the 2026 World Cup, but changed his mind after Football Federation president Pedro Proença urged him to continue playing for the national team.
He also said he supported the appointment of Jesus as Portugal’s new coach.
“I told the President of the Federation that, in my opinion, it would be the right choice,” Ronaldo wrote. “That is why, on the day the current head coach was presented, I was genuinely happy with the choice. It was the right option, as the results are confirming.”
According to Ronaldo, Jesus later met with him and outlined his plans for the veteran forward’s involvement in the team.
“He told me he was counting on me and that my presence was fundamental to his project,” Ronaldo said. “He presented me, right there, with a plan for my participation. He told me I would play the first match and the last one, and that for reasons of physical management he would always make three to four changes per match.”
Ronaldo said he rejected an early suggestion that he miss Portugal’s away fixtures against Norway and Denmark, arguing that doing so would undermine his role as captain.
“I refused this proposal immediately. It seemed obvious to me that I could not accept it,” he said. “It was not because I would not play the matches abroad that I would stop captaining our team. That privilege of staying in Portugal would not be a good example.”
Ronaldo played against Wales before being substituted and handing the captain’s armband to Bruno Fernandes.
However, he said the plan changed on the day of Portugal’s match against Norway.
“To my absolute surprise, the coach asked me if I was fit to play 30 minutes,” Ronaldo said. “I was fully focused on my physical recovery… Without any problem.”
He said Jesus then told him to be ready to play for half an hour, despite the initial plan for Ronaldo to feature only in Portugal’s later match.
“The rest everyone knows. I warmed up from half-time, watched the minutes go by, and was not called. The coach had broken his word to me,” he said.
Ronaldo also apologised for failing to greet supporters after the match, describing it as “a failure that is only my responsibility.”
He said he later held a private meeting with Jesus and Al Nassr sporting director Simão Coutinho, where he believed an agreement had been reached for the coach to clarify the situation at his next press conference.
According to Ronaldo, both sides agreed on a number of points that would be addressed publicly, but he said Jesus did not follow the agreed approach during the subsequent press conference.
“It was the second time that he was breaking the word he had given me,” Ronaldo said. “I decided to leave the camp without waiting for any further breach of word. For me, the truth is still the most important thing in relationships between people.”
Ronaldo apologised to his teammates and the Portuguese public for his departure from the camp. He also said he accepted that the Portuguese Football Federation should sanction him, stressing that “the rules are equal for everyone.”
On his future with Portugal, Ronaldo rejected the idea of returning solely for a ceremonial farewell.
“When I think about the national team, what I really think about is competing,” he said.
“Therefore, if I am physically well, playing at my club, scoring goals I hope, after serving the suspension that is applied to me, I will be available, as I always have been until today, to compete and win for our National Team.”
“This is, believe me, the purest of truths,” he added.
