In Portugal’s national-team orbit, a dispute that began on the touchline in Oslo has widened into a public argument over Cristiano Ronaldo’s place in the squad. The 41-year-old Al Nassr forward left the Portugal camp abruptly last Wednesday after a disagreement with coach Jorge Jesus.
The rupture followed Portugal’s 2-1 Nations League defeat to Norway in Oslo on 27 September, a match in which Ronaldo was not used. Jesus said the forward had spent around 30 minutes warming up before ultimately remaining on the bench.
Quick facts
- Cristiano Ronaldo left Portugal’s training camp last Wednesday.
- The disagreement came after the 2-1 Nations League loss to Norway in Oslo on 27 September.
- Jorge Jesus said Ronaldo warmed up for about half an hour but was not brought on.
- Former Portuguese Football Federation president Gilberto Madaíl called on Ronaldo to show humility.
- Fernando Gomes hopes for a resolution that satisfies Portugal.
Gilberto Madaíl, who led the Portuguese Football Federation from 1996 to 2011, said Ronaldo should recognise the role the federation played in building the career and stature he now enjoys. He urged the player to approach the episode with humility.
Madaíl said the row had left many in the country struggling to understand what had happened. He pointed to the support Ronaldo received throughout his international career, including the care shown to him by former Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari following the death of his father.
“It made me very sad,” Madaíl said, reflecting on the contrast between that support and the present impasse. He added that he did not know where Ronaldo was heading with the dispute, nor did he wish to speculate on it.
Fernando Gomes, Madaíl’s successor as federation president from 2011 until 2025, declined to intervene directly. Now president of the Portuguese Olympic Committee, Gomes said in Porto that Portuguese supporters would share his hope for an outcome acceptable to all, above all to the national side.
The episode leaves Portugal with a delicate question beyond one Nations League selection: how a team that has long been shaped around Ronaldo handles a sudden confrontation between its most recognisable player and a new voice on the bench.
