Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal walkout: What happened weeks before his international retirement?

Cristiano Ronaldo's retirement from international football comes weeks after a public fallout with Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus, which saw the 41-year-old forward abruptly leave the national team's training camp ahead of a Nations League fixture.

The dispute centred on Ronaldo's playing time, an alleged breach of a verbal agreement with the coach and comments made by Jesus at a press conference.

The row escalated after Portugal's 2-1 victory over Norway on September 27. Ronaldo, who had started Portugal's previous Nations League match against Wales, was left on the bench for the entire game despite warming up for around 30 minutes in the second half.


Also read: Cristiano Ronaldo retires from international football, ending Portugal's CR7 & Siuuu era

According to ESPN's report on the incident, Jesus had indicated that Ronaldo could come on as a substitute but ultimately decided against making the change. The decision reportedly left the Portugal captain frustrated.

The disagreement intensified in the days that followed, with Ronaldo training separately in the gym rather than with the rest of the squad. Jesus, however, denied that the forward had refused to train and maintained that there was no major incident between them.

The situation came to a head on September 30, when Jesus indicated at a press conference that Ronaldo would again not start Portugal's next Nations League fixture against Denmark. He also said that the decision to bring the forward on would depend on the team's requirements.

According to TOI, Ronaldo was particularly unhappy with the coach's handling of the situation after a private meeting involving the two and Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proença.

In his subsequent explanation, Ronaldo alleged that Jesus had agreed to publicly clarify the circumstances surrounding his unused appearance against Norway. He claimed that the coach had also agreed that he had not demanded playing time and that making him warm up without eventually bringing him on had been a mistake.

Also read: Cristiano Ronaldo announces international retirement: A look at his 234 appearances, 146 goals and other Portugal records

However, Ronaldo said Jesus's comments at the press conference did not reflect what had been discussed privately. He described it as the second time the coach had broken his word and said he decided to leave the camp rather than wait for further assurances.

Ronaldo announced his departure on social media after speaking with Proença. He said he would explain the reasons behind his decision to the Portuguese people in due course.

The Portuguese Football Federation subsequently initiated disciplinary proceedings against Ronaldo over his departure from the camp. The federation provisionally suspended the captain following the incident.

Ronaldo acknowledged that leaving the camp was not the right way to handle the disagreement and apologised to his teammates. However, he maintained that Jesus had broken his word. He also said he was prepared to accept disciplinary action without seeking any concessions.

The walkout had raised questions about Ronaldo's future with Portugal. His retirement announcement on Thursday brings that chapter of his career to an end, following a public disagreement that had exposed tensions between the country's most celebrated footballer and its new head coach.