Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Portugal camp as prime minister attempts to resolve dispute

Portugal prime minister Luis Montenegro made a personal attempt to settle the dispute involving Cristiano Ronaldo, but the forward has not returned to the national team camp after leaving for Madrid on Wednesday.

Portuguese broadcaster SIC Noticias reported that Montenegro spoke by telephone with Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proenca, manager Jorge Jesus and Ronaldo as he tried to establish the circumstances behind the disagreement.

Proenca received the initial call from the prime minister, who asked to speak to Jesus to understand the details of the situation. Montenegro also spoke directly with Ronaldo.

However, the intervention does not appear to have resolved the matter, with Ronaldo still absent from the Portugal camp.

According to Marca, Ronaldo had never asked to play in all four of Portugal’s matches during the current international break. The agreement was that he would feature in two of the four games, a proposal he accepted without objection.

The dispute reportedly arose after Jesus said Ronaldo would play in the next two matches before later reversing that decision. Ronaldo is understood to have felt disrespected by the Portuguese Football Federation, which had asked him not to retire and promised to treat him with full respect until 2027.

Portuguese newspaper O Jogo reported that Ronaldo had decided not to represent Portugal again and would prefer to retire from international football.

Ronaldo has played 234 times for Portugal, scoring 146 goals and providing 45 assists. He has won the European Championship once and the UEFA Nations League twice with his country.

In a statement posted on his official social media accounts, Ronaldo said: “After the national team manager’s press conference, and following a conversation with the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, I decided to leave the national team camp.”

He added: “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 given my all.”

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

As the controversy grew, Proenca changed his plans and joined the senior team’s camp. He abandoned plans to attend Portugal Under-21s’ match and returned to Denmark to hold an urgent meeting with Jesus and Ronaldo.

The meeting took place on Wednesday morning at the Portugal team hotel in Malmo and was described as calm and friendly.

But Ronaldo’s failure to attend training later that day opened a fresh stage in the dispute, particularly because it came only minutes after Jesus had confirmed that the player would take part.

Portugal are due to face Denmark on Thursday in the third round of Group D matches in the UEFA Nations League. They lead the group on six points, ahead of Denmark, Norway and Wales.

Ronaldo played in the opening match against Wales, which Portugal won 1-0, but missed their second group game against Norway, a 2-1 victory.