Ronaldo Says He Deserves Punishment for Portugal Walkout, Accuses Coach Jorge Jesus of Breaking His Word Twice

Six days after Cristiano Ronaldo left Portugal's training camp before the team's Nations League match against Denmark, the 41-year-old captain has told his side of the story. On Tuesday, October 6, he released a statement running nearly 2,000 words, saying he is not retiring from international football but believes he should be punished for walking out, according to the BBC.

Ronaldo, who plays for Al-Nassr and holds the all-time records for Portugal with 146 goals in 234 appearances, said head coach Jorge Jesus "broke his word" to him twice in the span of days.

According to Ronaldo's account as reported by Reuters via Al Jazeera, he and Jesus had agreed on a plan to manage his fitness that would see him sit out the matches against Norway and Denmark. On the day of the Norway game, Ronaldo says Jesus told him he would play 30 minutes. Instead, Ronaldo warmed up from halftime onward and was never brought on.

"Everyone knows the rest. I warmed up from half-time onwards, watched the minutes tick by and wasn't called on," Ronaldo said. "The manager had broken his word to me."

Ronaldo said a follow-up meeting, attended by Al-Nassr sporting director Simao Coutinho, produced an eight-point document for Jesus to present publicly, clarifying that Ronaldo had never demanded playing time and had respected the coach's decisions. Ronaldo said Jesus abandoned that plan and instead spoke critically of him at a press conference, which Ronaldo called "the second time he had broken his word to me." That, he said, is what drove him to pack his bags and leave the camp.

The statement also contained two direct apologies. Ronaldo apologized for not greeting fans after the Norway match, calling it "a failing that is solely my responsibility," according to the Daily Mirror. He separately apologized to his teammates for leaving camp, writing that as captain he should face no mitigating factors in whatever punishment follows.

"The consequence of this act of mine must be assessed and punished by the Portuguese Football Federation," Ronaldo said, per the Mirror. "I am not just any player; I am team captain, and that constitutes an aggravating factor."

On the question of his international future, Ronaldo was direct. "I can promise all my fans, and naturally especially all Portuguese people, that we will have one or more farewell matches," he said, according to Fox News, which cited Associated Press reporting. He added that once any suspension ends, he'll be available again "as I have always been until today" provided he's fit and playing for his club.

Jesus has given a different account. The 72-year-old coach said Sunday, after Portugal's win over Norway, that no such agreement with Ronaldo existed, though he left the door open for Ronaldo's return to the squad, according to Al Jazeera. The Portuguese Football Federation has not responded publicly to Ronaldo's statement, and no disciplinary decision has been announced.

The dispute has split opinion inside Portugal. The Guardian reported that most Portuguese newspapers and commentators have sided against Ronaldo, with the sports paper O Jogo running a front page suggesting the public feels he turned his back on the national team. Some Portuguese outlets, including ones in which Ronaldo holds a financial stake, have taken the opposite view, accusing Jesus of ingratitude and reneging on commitments he made privately. Jesus himself had said in July, when he first took the job, that "Cris will never be a problem for the national team or for me." Whether that promise or the alleged fitness-management agreement actually existed as Ronaldo describes it remains disputed between the two men, and neither side has produced the eight-point document publicly.

What happens next rests with the Portuguese Football Federation, which has yet to say whether it will impose any suspension or other sanction on its captain. Jesus is scheduled to continue leading the squad through Portugal's remaining Nations League fixtures, and how he handles Ronaldo's return, if it happens, will likely shape the rest of his tenure as much as any match result.