Copenhagen became the latest stop in Cristiano Ronaldo’s increasingly fraught Portugal camp when the forward left Parken Stadium as the national side began training ahead of its match against Denmark.
A departure in Copenhagen
Ronaldo was filmed leaving the Danish stadium in a Portuguese Football Federation vehicle shortly after coach Jorge Jesus had spoken to the media and the squad’s session had got under way. Portugal are preparing to face Denmark, with the camp already under scrutiny after a public exchange between Ronaldo and Jesus following the player’s absence from the match against Norway.
Subsequent press conferences had appeared to ease the temperature around the disagreement, but the situation escalated again on the eve of the Denmark fixture when Ronaldo opted to leave the group.
- Ronaldo did not take part in Portugal’s training session at Parken Stadium.
- Joao Felix returned to training with the squad.
- Francisco Conceicao will not be available for the match against Denmark.
Federation confirms training absence
The Portuguese Football Federation issued a short statement after news of Ronaldo’s departure emerged, confirming that he had missed training but offering no explanation for his decision to leave.
The federation’s update said that Felix had rejoined the group, Conceicao would be unavailable the following day, and Ronaldo had not trained.
Private jet reportedly heading north
Ronaldo is understood to be ready to depart Copenhagen, with his private aircraft reportedly travelling towards the Danish capital. It would follow another missed session earlier in the week, when the 40-year-old did not train in Malmo, Sweden, on Tuesday.
On that occasion, his absence was attributed to the stadium gym lacking a specific piece of equipment required for his planned fitness programme. The Copenhagen exit, however, arrives against the backdrop of the dispute with Portugal’s coach and leaves the forward’s involvement in the Denmark match in doubt.
