Cristiano Ronaldo quits Portugal: Fabrizio Romano reveals the inside story

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Robin Bairner | Chief Editor

Cristiano Ronaldo walked away from the Portugal nation team prior to its 4-2 victory over Denmark on Thursday in the Nations League, and Fabrizio Romano has provided the inside story from a dramatic week.

Romano has detailed what went on in the Portugal camp, from the beginning of his feud with head coach Jorge Jesus to his current feelings with regards his international future.

“The crucial moment was against Norway,” Romano explained on his YouTube channel. “First of all, don't forget what Cristiano Ronaldo said in a press conference almost one week ago, a little bit more than one week ago. Cristiano went next to Jorge Jesus.

“And don't forget one thing. Cristiano was a very important part of the conversation with the Portuguese Federation after the World Cup when Cristiano was considering his future.

“Cristiano was considering whether to retire from international football or continue. Cristiano was thinking together with his family, together with his camp, together with his friends. Cristiano was considering his options.

“Then Cristiano decided to continue, also because a coach he knows very well, Jorge Jesus, who they worked together with at Al Nassr last season, was becoming the new coach of the Portuguese national team.

“And when asked about Jorge Jesus, Cristiano was speaking very highly of the coach.

“So Cristiano was part - obviously not in deciding, Cristiano is not the one deciding - but involved in the conversations. You ask a legend like Cristiano when you're appointing a new coach, especially if you want Cristiano to continue.

“Then Cristiano, one week ago, sits in a press conference next to Jorge Jesus, together, and he says, ‘I'm more than happy to be here. I'm available. Starting, bench, stands, whatever, I'm here. I'm here to help.’

“‘If I feel they want me, if I feel they don't want me, anyone, the president, the coach, whoever, one day they don't want me, I grab my bag and I leave.’

“So that was the message from Cristiano. Very clear, very honest.”

Ronaldo's fury began after 30 minutes of warming up

Romano explains that Ronaldo's frustration was not caused by being left out of the starting XI, but by what happened once he began warming up.

“Then what made Cristiano crazy? Basically, what happened during last weekend against Norway,” he explained.

“Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't start, and that's not a problem. But then when Cristiano has to warm up, 30 minutes warming up and then not playing a single minute, zero minutes, Cristiano Ronaldo's feeling was something like, not that positive because he wanted to have a discussion with the coach.

“So Cristiano was not so happy about that kind of attitude. It's not that Cristiano wants to start or that Cristiano wants guaranteed to play.

“But when you warm up for 30 minutes, even Jorge Jesus said in the press conference, no player can be happy when they warm up for 30 minutes. Even Pele or Maradona would be angry. That's Jorge Jesus saying that.

“Cristiano speaks with Jorge Jesus, and here is the key point. Sources close to Cristiano guarantee that Cristiano got a message from Jorge Jesus, something like apologising for what happened and going to clarify the situation in the press conference.

“So Cristiano was expecting Jorge Jesus to go in the press conference on Wednesday and say, ‘I was wrong. There was miscommunication with Cristiano. Let's restart together from the next game.’

“This didn't happen.”

Jorge Jesus sent a message Ronaldo was not expecting

Romano says Jorge Jesus instead emphasised that he was the person responsible for making the decisions, leaving Ronaldo surprised and disappointed.

“Jorge Jesus in the press conference was sending a different message. ‘It's me deciding. It's not only Cristiano. There are so many players. It's not only one. It's me who takes the decisions.’

“So Cristiano was very surprised after the press conference.

“During the press conference, after the press conference, Cristiano doesn't show up. Imagine, Jorge Jesus in the press conference says, ‘Cristiano, you will see him in training in a few minutes,’ because there was the open session for the journalists.

“Cristiano doesn't show up.

“Cristiano tells the president of the federation, ‘I'm sorry, but this was too much. Telling me one thing and doing another.’

“And so Cristiano decides to leave.

“His private jet arrives in Copenhagen, brings him back to Madrid, and now he stays with his family. He will go back to Saudi in the next days and then restart with Al Nassr.

“So Cristiano, very upset.”

Ronaldo feels 'betrayed' by Portugal boss

Romano says the disagreement has left Ronaldo feeling betrayed, with his sister Elma also publicly referring to the situation in those terms.

“Then, from Jorge Jesus, the message today was quite different. Cristiano's message on Wednesday was: ‘Now it's time to let Portugal play. I will clarify everything at the right moment. I will tell the truth to the Portuguese people.’

“The sister of Cristiano Ronaldo, Elma, speaking in public on his social media, speaks about betrayal.

“And so Cristiano feels betrayed. Cristiano feels the coach is telling me one thing and then he's doing another.

“So that's why Cristiano left in this way.

“On the other side, Jorge Jesus always made clear that he wants to be the one making and taking the decisions, that he wants to be the one in total control.

“So Jorge Jesus, before and after the game won against Denmark, said: ‘I will clarify after our final game. After the Dragao's game, the last one in Porto, I will speak about Cristiano Ronaldo. I will not run away. I will not hide. I will explain everything.’

“Then he said: ‘Cristiano is a symbol. Cristiano is an icon. No one can take that away from him. But I will clarify everything after these games.’

“So this is the message from Jorge Jesus.”

Calls were made to Ronaldo's camp after the shock exit

Romano reports that the Portuguese Federation has attempted to understand what happened and repair the relationship, while Ronaldo remained furious over the fallout.

“Cristiano really feels disappointed. Cristiano really feels bad,” Romano said.

“There were calls from the Federation to those close to Cristiano Ronaldo to enter into details of the situation, to try and fix the situation.

“Cristiano was crazy, crazy furious all Wednesday night. That's why Cristiano left immediately.

“Cristiano didn't even want to stay in Copenhagen that night and maybe leave on Thursday after talking with people there. Cristiano said: ‘This is too much.’

“Then, now we have to see what Cristiano will decide to do.

“Now we have to see also what's going to happen with Jorge Jesus' quotes, because Jorge Jesus will have his own quotes to mention.

“Obviously, it's a difficult situation also for some of the players in the dressing room who share a personal, great relationship with Cristiano.

“So there are a few situations to clarify, but this was the reason for the clash.

“It's one of the biggest cases about one of the biggest players, so we will follow that and keep you updated, but this is what happened.”

Written by

Robin Bairner | Chief Editor

Robin Bairner is an eminent digital football journalist who has been writing about the sport for major global publishers since 2006, specialising in Ligue 1 and Scottish football. He has been chief editor of the FootballTransfers global edition since its launch in 2020. Previously Bairner had been a key member of the editorial team which helped Goal.com become the world’s biggest football website. He covered multiple major competitions as a correspondent for Goal including the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where he had the opportunity to work in Fortaleza. Among his highlights of the competition was Brazil’s quarter-final victory over Colombia.

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