Lisbon’s relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo remains written into the walls of Sporting, from the academy that bears his name to the No. 7 entrance at Estádio José Alvalade. As debate continues over the 41-year-old’s exit from Portugal duty, Sporting coach Rui Borges has argued that the forward alone should decide the terms of his eventual international farewell.
Borges was asked about Ronaldo’s situation with Portugal coach Jorge Jesus but declined to enter the dispute, saying it was not his place to judge it. Instead, he focused on the standing of Sporting’s most celebrated academy graduate, whose influence, he said, reaches far beyond the Lisbon club.
“Cristiano’s footballing stature is not confined to Sporting; it is worldwide,” Borges said. “We cannot really grasp what Ronaldo represents to people around the world.”
The Sporting manager added that he felt enormous pride at having witnessed, and still being able to witness, Ronaldo’s quality as a footballer. He said the Portugal captain would leave the national side “in the way he wants and sees fit”.
A Lisbon landmark and a Portugal dispute
Ronaldo joined Sporting during his childhood and took his first professional steps with the club before beginning the career that carried him across Europe and onto the global stage. Sporting’s training complex is named Academia Cristiano Ronaldo, while his image appears at gate seven of the José Alvalade stadium, reflecting the shirt number most associated with him.
The latest controversy began after Ronaldo was left out of Portugal’s starting line-up for the 1-2 defeat to Norway in Oslo. The match took place three days before his abrupt departure from the national squad on 30 September.
The forward’s mother, Dolores Aveiro, said she had been saddened by events, describing the situation as a shock. She believed her son deserved a more fitting departure from the Portugal set-up.
“My son could have left through the main door, but instead he went through the small one,” Aveiro said. “It does not matter; God will take care of it. He has always been Portugal’s hero, and he is not being appreciated as he should be.”
