Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Portugal camp after Jorge Jesus says he will train

Cristiano Ronaldo has left Portugal’s training camp in Copenhagen and travelled to Madrid on his private jet, deepening uncertainty over his future with the national team.

The departure came only minutes after Portugal manager Jorge Jesus denied there was a dispute with his captain and said Ronaldo would take part in Wednesday’s training session. Instead, Ronaldo left Parken Stadium in a black car belonging to the Portuguese Football Federation without joining the squad’s workout.

Jesus had told reporters: “Yesterday, he did not refuse to train. Francisco Conceicao did not train because of injury, and Joao Felix did not train because we tried to reduce his fatigue, while Cristiano Ronaldo worked in the gym. He will train today. It is the fourth day, so he will train.”

The manager had also said he met Ronaldo on Tuesday evening and that the matter had been settled before the end of the day. However, he insisted the forward’s status would not influence his team selection.

“I can promise whatever I want. I am the coach,” said Jesus. “I told the player he would not start the match and would be on the bench. If I need him for 30 minutes, he will play. If I do not need him, he will not play. No player will make me change my mind. Not him or anyone else in football, not even a president. Never, nobody.”

The comments followed a difficult period for Ronaldo, who was left on the bench for Portugal’s Nations League match against Norway and had subsequently missed three consecutive training sessions.

The Portuguese Football Federation later confirmed Ronaldo had not trained, but gave no reason for his absence.

Its brief statement read: “Information about the training session at Parken: Joao Felix returned to team training. Francisco Conceicao, who is unavailable for tomorrow’s match, and Cristiano Ronaldo did not train. Thank you.”

How the dispute began

Jesus left Ronaldo among the substitutes against Norway, selecting Joao Felix and Goncalo Ramos to start. The decision proved effective as both players scored in a 2-1 victory, while Ronaldo did not come on, appearing only briefly during the second-half warm-up.

After the final whistle, Ronaldo went straight to the dressing room and did not join the other substitutes for training the following day. Jesus later played down the incident, describing it as part of normal player workload management.

Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proenca then changed his schedule and travelled to Copenhagen for an urgent meeting with Ronaldo and Jesus. The meeting took place on Wednesday morning, after the tension surrounding the Norway match. Jesus subsequently said his conversation with Ronaldo had ended normally and that there was no problem between them.

Ronaldo’s departure a few hours later has reopened the issue before Portugal’s match against Denmark. The captain is 41 and approaching a decisive stage of his international career, but neither he nor the federation has announced that he is retiring from international football.

For now, the end of Ronaldo’s Portugal career remains a possibility rather than a confirmed decision.