Cristiano Ronaldo can return to Portugal squad, says Jorge Jesus

Portugal coach Jorge Jesus says Cristiano Ronaldo will be considered for the national team’s November fixtures despite the forward leaving the squad after being told he would not start against Denmark.

The 41-year-old remains eligible for selection if he wants to return, Jesus said, after Portugal defeated Norway without him to become the first side to qualify for the Uefa Nations League quarter-finals.

“For me, Cris, in the next call-up, if he’s playing at Al-Nassr, he’ll be a player who can be called up,” Jesus said on Sunday, referring to Ronaldo’s Saudi club.

“If he wants to, he’ll return to the national team.”

The disagreement began when Jesus left Ronaldo on the bench for Portugal’s first victory over Norway. Ronaldo subsequently walked out on the squad on Wednesday after discovering he would not be in the starting line-up for the match against Denmark.

Jesus said the pair could speak before the next international selection, just as they had before his first squad announcement.

“If he wants to, as we did before this call-up, we talked before the call-up, we can talk before the next call-up,” he said. “But Cris is the one who’s going to decide.”

Jesus replaced Roberto Martinez after the Fifa World Cup 2026 and said he had made clear to Ronaldo that he wanted him involved during his first matches in charge, whether he played or not.

“Cristiano should end his time in the national team the way he wants, he’s the one who will decide how he wants it,” said Jesus.

“That’s how we talked, the two of us I said, ‘I need you’. In my first call-up, I said, ‘I need you, I need you to be close to me, playing or not playing, I need you’. And now I’m saying the same thing.”

Ronaldo is Portugal’s most-capped player and leading goalscorer. The former Real Madrid and Manchester United attacker made his international debut in 2003, aged 18, and has represented his country at six World Cups.

He has said this will “probably” be his final year as a footballer, following more than two decades as a regular member of the Portugal squad.

Without Ronaldo, Portugal secured their place in the Nations League quarter-finals with two group matches still remaining.

Ronaldo’s long-standing rival for the status of the world’s best player, Lionel Messi, is due to play his final match for Argentina in a friendly against Benin in Buenos Aires on Tuesday.