Ronaldo considered Portugal retirement before Jesus persuaded him to stay

Cristiano Ronaldo considered ending his Portugal career after the 2026 World Cup, according to Portuguese journalist Nuno Luz, who has detailed the dispute between the captain and manager Jorge Jesus.

The disagreement began when Ronaldo remained on the bench throughout Portugal’s 2-1 Nations League victory over Norway. The decision angered the Al Nassr forward, who then refused to take part in training after the match.

Ronaldo later held talks with Jesus and the situation appeared to have calmed. However, the manager told a news conference before the match against Denmark that no player, or anyone else in football, would change his decisions. Ronaldo subsequently left Portugal’s training camp and travelled to Madrid.

Speaking on the La Tribu programme on Radio Marca, Luz said: “It cannot be the end of Cristiano’s career with Portugal like this. What happened is not good. It leaves a bad impression.”

Luz said he had spoken to Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proenca, who was “very angry” about the situation.

“It cannot end like this, because Cristiano has a history. He is part of our history,” Luz quoted him as saying.

According to Luz, Ronaldo had already been considering whether to return to international football after the 2026 World Cup.

“After the World Cup, the idea of not returning to the national team was going through Cristiano’s mind; he believed that was the end of the road,” he said.

Jesus tried to persuade him to continue, contacting Ronaldo at home every day during the summer and telling him he was the man responsible for leading the project. The manager and Proenca also visited Ronaldo at his home in Cascais, where they held a meeting over coffee.

“Eventually, they reached an agreement,” Luz said. “It was settled: he wanted to play the first match against Wales and the final match against Norway at home on Sunday.”

The immediate dispute developed on the day of the Norway game. Luz said Jesus called Ronaldo that morning to explain that his plans had changed.

“I have changed my mind; you can be an important player and I will bring you on for 30 minutes,” Jesus reportedly told him.

Luz believes making that promise was the central mistake.

“No manager in the world can promise a player 30 minutes if he is not putting him in the starting line-up,” he said.

The course of the game then forced another change, Luz added, because it was “not a match suited to Cristiano” and Portugal needed to defend a 2-1 lead.

Ronaldo’s anger led to an emergency meeting involving the player, Jesus and Proenca, who travelled urgently to join them. The three agreed: “Let us join the national team. The national team is the most important thing and we will do things properly.”

Jesus accepted that he should not have promised Ronaldo 30 minutes, while Ronaldo acknowledged that he needed to be with his team-mates, allowing the two sides to reach an understanding.

The tension returned when Ronaldo expected Jesus to address the matter at his news conference. Ronaldo was already at the stadium listening, but the manager said nothing about it.

Luz believes Ronaldo deserves a different farewell, including a tribute and a final match, and expects him to give his own account after the current round of international fixtures.