Cristiano Ronaldo has released a lengthy statement explaining the events that led to his departure from Portugal’s camp.

Ronaldo claims that coach Jorge Jesus had promised him a specific playing plan during the international break but ultimately made him warm up without bringing him onto the pitch as agreed during Portugal’s second match.

According to Ronaldo, the two later held a private meeting to resolve the dispute. He says it was agreed that the coach would address the matter publicly and vow never again to make a player of the stature of Pelé or Diego Maradona warm up without playing.

Below is Cristiano Ronaldo’s Statement:

As I promised, I decided to recount, in the first person and directly, the circumstances that surrounded the final stage of the National Team’s journey.

After the 2026 World Cup, I prepared a letter to the Portuguese people, which I still keep, with the words I want to address to them when I definitively leave our team.

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At the end of the competition, on the return flight from the United States, the President of the Federation asked me and insisted that I reconsider my decision to leave because the FPF wanted me to continue.

Immediately afterwards, he asked for my opinion on the name of the current National Team Coach, whom he was considering, along with other names he did not reveal to me.

I replied to the President of the Federation that, in my opinion, it would be the right choice. Therefore, on the day the current National Team Coach was introduced, I felt truly happy with the choice. It was the right option, as the results show.

A few days later, I received an initial contact from the new national team coach saying that he would like to meet with me in person. I replied yes, and we scheduled it for the end of my vacation.

We met at Football City, where my club was holding its preseason training camp.

That day, the coach told me that he was counting on me and that my presence was essential to his project. He presented me with a plan for my participation right then and there. He told me that I would play the first and the last match and that, for physical preparation reasons, he would always make three or four changes per match.

At that moment, he suggested that I not travel with the national team to Norway and Denmark. He proposed that I play the first match and stay in Portugal, then rejoin before the match at the Dragão stadium.

I immediately rejected the proposal. It seemed obvious to me that I couldn’t accept it. Not playing the matches abroad didn’t mean I wouldn’t be the team captain. That privilege of staying in Portugal would not be a good example.

Finally, the coach agreed with my analysis.

Simão Coutinho, Al Nassr’s sporting director, attended this conversation, the person to whom the current national team coach reported throughout last season and one of those responsible for his signing by the club in 2025.

On the eve of the training camp, the head coach came to my house in Lisbon to speak with me again, at his own request. The conversation was calm and all the principles agreed upon in August were maintained. I played the match at Alvalade, and although I was substituted, I did not cause any problems. I personally put the captain’s armband on Bruno Fernandes, far from imagining that I might be taking my last steps as an athlete and captain of the national team. The important thing that day, for me, was our victory. Winning is always good; in Portugal and for my country, even better.

At lunchtime on the day of the match in Norway, an assistant to the national team coach came over to the table where the group was having lunch and informed me that the coach wanted to speak with me. To my absolute surprise, the coach asked me if I was okay to play 30 minutes. I was completely focused on my physical recovery, integrated with my teammates as always, and thinking that I would not play that day. There was no problem.

This request was outside my recovery and physical training plan, since I was only going to play on the 4th at the Dragão stadium, but obviously I said yes. He replied that I had to be prepared because I would play 30 minutes.

The rest is history. I warmed up from halftime, watched the minutes go by, and they didn’t call me. The coach had broken his word.

At the end of the match, I just wanted everything to end with a victory and to be alone. I didn’t go over to greet the fans. A mistake that is solely my responsibility and that should never have happened. I apologize to the Portuguese people who supported us intensely there, I apologize to the fans, and I apologize to those who, without being Portuguese, traveled there to see me and whom I may have disappointed.

Forty-eight hours later, we had a conversation: me, the coach and Simão Coutinho, since he had been following our conversations in August.

It was a profound and very frank moment, without filters.

We agreed that there was only one way to close this “case”: that the coach would repeat what he had just told me in private, in the presence of Simão Coutinho, but in the press room.

The agreement was simple: the coach would begin the press conference with this topic, trying to put the matter to rest by telling the truth. He would say that I never asked to play any minutes, that it was the coach, and no one else, who proposed the plan for this training camp, and that it was a mistake to make me warm up only not to play, and that if it happened again, I would not do it.

We ended that meeting with the coach asking me for a hug, promising me that he would say at the press conference what he had just told me, and that the matter was resolved. I would not play in Denmark, but I would in the match against Dragão. All of this took place in the presence of Simão Coutinho, as always.

At the coach’s request, a videoconference was held between him, Simão Coutinho and Tiago Craveiro, in which what we had discussed was summarized.

A brief document was prepared, which I personally reviewed and which, to my knowledge, was delivered to the coach, just as he had requested.

‘The conference unfolded as expected: his attitude had nothing to do with our meeting; I perceived expressions and aggression that I consider undeserved, an attitude of “I want, I can, and I command” that he had never shown me before, not even remotely, in private, the day before.’

The notes I validated were the following: “I think it is important, because it is the truth, to clarify some things before talking about Denmark:’

1. I personally proposed a plan for Cristiano, with no one else involved, for him this season with the National Team. It was a long and very good conversation.

2. I know how much he lives for and loves the National Team and the weight it carries in the world; moreover, the weight and positive influence he has had on the National Team for 24 consecutive years.

3. The plan I proposed to Cristiano was accepted.

4. He never questioned my decisions. He was exemplary, loyal, and professional.

5. The match against Norway was not included in the plan I had outlined for him. However, I felt that he had managed to recover physically from the first match and I warned him that I might have to use him. Cristiano agreed.

6. I made a mistake by making someone of Pelé or Maradona’s stature warm up only to not put him in the match. If it were today, I wouldn’t do it.

7. To conclude: I want Cristiano in the National Team. “Actually, I don’t want a little, I want a lot. Luckily, he believes in me too. He believed in Al Nassr and here as well.”

8. Regarding not greeting the fans. We’ve already talked about that. Someone who has played more than 230 matches for the National Team doesn’t get lessons in love for Portugal from me. It was a moment of frustration that doesn’t erase anything. He is the player who signs the most autographs, takes the most selfies, and shows the most affection to the fans. Let’s not invent problems where there are none. When we’re not happy, we react. That’s all.

None of those reports, therefore, said that the coach had apologized to me.

It was the second time I had broken my word.

I decided to leave the training camp without waiting for another broken promise. For me, the truth remains the most important thing in interpersonal relationships. No matter how much it hurts, I want people to tell me the truth.

In fact, in a conversation I had with the president of the Portuguese Football Federation and the coach on the morning of that press conference, which they can surely confirm, I reiterated that if they did not want me there, they simply had to tell me. They only needed to be honest with me. I would accept it and I promised that we would prepare something beautiful, as I dream will happen, and no one would get upset.

“I remember it as if it were yesterday. They answered in unison that no. That my place was in the National Team.

Never, at no time, have I interfered in any technical or tactical decision of any coach or national team manager in almost 25 years of my career. I accept, for better or worse, what they propose to do. I’ll respect the decision, and when they break their word to me, I feel that my place is not there.

I also owe an apology to my teammates on the national team for leaving the training camp. Despite the absolute lack of trust in the coach’s word, as anyone who witnessed those conversations can attest, I should not have done it. The responsibility is exclusively mine.

I apologize once again to the Portuguese people, but breaking my word has a decisive impact on me. I felt that, from that moment on, my staying would only harm the team, and I did what I always said I would do if I didn’t feel useful: I packed my bags and left.

The consequences of my actions must be evaluated and sanctioned by the Portuguese Football Federation. I believe the punishment should not be reduced. I am not just any player; I am the team captain, and that is an aggravating factor. I’ve already apologized, but I know that actions must have consequences. Anyone in football, like me, knows that, regardless of individual position, the rules are the same for everyone.

In this regard, I have heard a lot about farewell matches, that I need a worthy farewell, and that the Federation wants to give me that opportunity.

I learned in life, often hungry and with nothing to eat, that nobody gives anyone anything for free. I can promise all my supporters, naturally and especially all the Portuguese people, that we will play one or more farewell matches; there will be time for that.

But when I think about the national team, what I really think about is competing. That’s what I thought the day I received the news of my father’s death. I was at the training camp with our national team and decided to stay there until the match the next day was over. I did for the country what I would never do for any club.

Therefore, if I am in good physical shape, playing for my club and, hopefully, scoring goals, after serving my suspension, I will be available, as I always have been, to compete and win with our National Team.

Believe me, this is the plain truth.