Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Portugal camp after Jorge Jesus fails to change his mind

Portugal manager Jorge Jesus and Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) president Pedro Proenca were unable to persuade captain Cristiano Ronaldo to remain with the squad after travelling to Copenhagen airport to meet him, Spanish newspaper Marca reports.

Ronaldo announced on social media on Wednesday that he was leaving Portugal’s camp in Denmark after speaking with Proenca, raising questions about his future with the national team.

The FPF confirmed that the 41-year-old forward had departed, while Portugal’s record goalscorer said he would reveal his reasons in due course.

Ronaldo had been expected to train at the Parken Stadium on Wednesday, but left before the session started. According to Marca, he returned to the team hotel to collect his belongings before travelling to the airport, where he boarded a private flight to Madrid.

Jesus and Proenca followed Ronaldo to the airport in an effort to convince him to stay in Copenhagen, but their attempt was unsuccessful, the report added.

The FPF’s disciplinary code states that national-team players who leave camp without permission may be suspended for between one and six months. The federation did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Marca’s report.

The departure came only hours after Jesus said Ronaldo would participate in Wednesday’s training session and denied there was a problem between the pair.

Jesus confirmed that he had held a private conversation with Ronaldo on Tuesday, after the Al-Nassr forward was left out of Portugal’s 2-1 victory over Norway on Sunday.

He acknowledged that Ronaldo was angry with him but said the issue was, from his perspective, “water under the bridge”.

The episode has left Ronaldo’s immediate involvement with Portugal uncertain, following his decision to leave the squad before the scheduled training session.