Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly decides to retire from international football

Cristiano Ronaldo has made a final decision to retire from international football, according to Portuguese newspaper O Jogo.

The Portugal captain left the national team’s training camp in Denmark on Wednesday and travelled to Madrid shortly after comments made by manager Jorge Jesus at a news conference.

Ronaldo confirmed his departure in a statement posted on his official Facebook account.

“After the national team manager’s press conference, and after speaking with the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, I decided to leave the national team camp,” he said.

“At the right time, I will tell all Portuguese people the reasons that led me to leave the national team, to which I have always devoted myself.”

He added: “Now is the time to wish Portugal and all my team-mates, without exception, the best of luck.”

The report from O Jogo said Ronaldo had decided not to return to represent Portugal and would instead end his international career.

Ronaldo’s departure came after Pedro Proenca, president of the Portuguese Football Federation, changed his plans and joined the senior squad’s camp. He had been due to attend Portugal Under-21s’ match but cancelled that visit to return to Denmark for an urgent meeting with Jesus and Ronaldo.

That meeting took place on Wednesday morning at the Portugal team hotel in Malmo and was described as having been held in a calm and friendly atmosphere.

However, Ronaldo’s absence from training later that day created a fresh development in the dispute, particularly because Jesus had confirmed only minutes earlier that the striker would take part in the session.

Joao Felix was the main new feature of Portugal’s training session on the eve of their match against Denmark. Jesus also confirmed that Francisco Conceicao would miss the game.

Portugal are due to face Denmark on Thursday in the third round of matches in Group 4 of the UEFA Nations League.

They lead the group on six points, ahead of Denmark, Norway and Wales.

Ronaldo played in Portugal’s opening match against Wales, which ended in a 1-0 victory. He was absent for the second group game against Norway, although Portugal won that match 2-1.

The 40-year-old has made 234 appearances for Portugal, scoring 146 goals and providing 45 assists.

During his international career, Ronaldo has helped Portugal win the European Championship once and the UEFA Nations League twice.