Cristiano Ronaldo apologises for Portugal walkout after accusing Jorge Jesus of broken promises

Cristiano Ronaldo has apologised for leaving Portugal’s training camp but accused coach Jorge Jesus of breaking two promises over his involvement in Nations League matches.

The 41-year-old said he remained available for international selection and would accept any punishment imposed by the Portuguese Football Federation for his actions.

“I will be available, as I have always been until today, to compete and win for our national team,” Ronaldo said in a statement of almost 2,000 words.

Ronaldo was left on the bench for Portugal’s Nations League match against Norway. Before the following game against Denmark, Jesus told him he would not start, prompting the Al-Nassr forward to leave the national team camp.

“I owe an apology to my national team teammates for having left the camp,” wrote Ronaldo.

“Despite the absolute breakdown of trust in the head coach’s word… I shouldn’t have done it. The responsibility is mine alone.”

The former Real Madrid and Manchester United player also apologised to Portugal supporters, but said his decision was a direct response to what he described as the coach’s “broken word”.

“I apologise to the Portuguese people once again, but a broken word has, for me, a defining impact,” he said.

“I felt that, from that moment on, my presence would only harm the group, and I did what I always said I would do if I didn’t feel useful: I picked up my bags and left.”

Ronaldo said Jesus, who was appointed after Portugal’s elimination from the World Cup in the Round of 16, had initially outlined a plan for the international window.

Under that proposal, Ronaldo would start the opening and final home matches but would not travel for the fixtures in Norway and Denmark. The forward rejected the idea, saying it would send the wrong message for the captain to stay behind while his team-mates travelled.

Ahead of the Norway game, Ronaldo said Jesus unexpectedly asked whether he was prepared to play for 30 minutes. He agreed and began warming up at half-time, but was not introduced.

“The head coach failed to keep his word to me,” said Ronaldo, Portugal’s most capped player and leading goalscorer.

Ronaldo said he later discussed the incident with Jesus and agreed that the coach would apologise during a news conference before the Denmark match. However, he claimed the press conference did not reflect their conversation and included an “aggressiveness” he had never previously experienced from the coach.

“It was the second time he failed to keep his word. I decided to leave the camp without waiting for any further broken promises,” Ronaldo wrote.

He said he accepted that his conduct should be punished and would serve any “suspension that is imposed”.

“The consequence of this act of mine must be assessed and punished by the Portuguese Football Federation,” he said.

“I understand that the punishment should not have mitigating circumstances. I’m not just any player, I’m the team captain, and that is an aggravating factor.”

Portugal won all four of their Nations League matches and secured qualification for the quarter-finals with two games still to play.