The Final Chapter? Uncertainty Looms Over Cristiano Ronaldo's International Future After Portugal Fallout

Cristiano Ronaldo has left Portugal’s training camp, throwing fresh doubt over whether the 41-year-old forward will play for the national team again. The abrupt exit came a few hours after coach Jorge Jesus said Ronaldo would not start Thursday’s Nations League game against Denmark.

Ronaldo, the all-time leading scorer in men’s international soccer, gave no detailed reason for his decision. He only said he would “tell the Portuguese people the truth about the reasons” behind his departure.

Portugal’s federation also offered little detail. It stated that Ronaldo had left camp and that the rest of the squad would stay focused on Thursday's match against Denmark.

Jersey, Headlines, Politics

A new No. 7 is ready.

Rafael Leão wore Ronaldo’s No. 7 jersey on Thursday because UEFA rules required Portugal to assign the number after Ronaldo left the roster. Other players have worn the No. 7 in Ronaldo’s absence before.

The fallout spread quickly across Portugal. JM, the newspaper from Ronaldo’s native Madeira, ran the front-page headline “Is this the end?” A Bola described it as “A sad farewell,” while O Jogo declared: “CR7 turns his back on the national team”.

Portuguese media also reported that Prime Minister Luís Montenegro got involved. He reportedly spoke separately to Ronaldo, Jesus and federation president Pedro Proença.

Possible Suspension

A ban is possible.

The federation’s disciplinary regulations say a player who “abandons or fails to appear” without justification at a training session, match or other national-team activity can be suspended for one to six months and fined.

The rules go further. They say the “absence or abandonment shall result in the player’s automatic preventive suspension”.

Ronaldo did inform the federation that he was leaving, but it was unclear whether that would count as justified under the rules. Neither the federation nor Ronaldo’s representatives immediately responded to requests for comment on Thursday.

What Comes Next

Ronaldo reportedly travelled to Madrid.

The city was his base for years at Real Madrid and is where he usually stays when he is not playing for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia. His own statement, however, gave little indication of what comes next.

“Following the national team coach’s news conference, and after a conversation with the president of the Portuguese football federation, I decided to leave the national team’s training camp,” Ronaldo said.

He ended the message by saying that “now is the time to wish good luck to Portugal and to all my teammates”.

Questions over retirement have followed him for months. Many had expected him to step away from Portugal duty after the World Cup, and he played in his sixth World Cup this year. Ronaldo has said he will not play another World Cup, but he also said he wants to keep going and chase 1,000 career goals. He has 979 goals, including a men’s international record 146 for Portugal.

He also recently said this Saudi Pro League season is likely to be the last of his professional career. Al-Nassr’s next match is on Oct. 9.

Jesus Denies Feud

Jesus denied any rupture.

The coach worked with Ronaldo at Al-Nassr last season when they won the Saudi Arabian league title together. He then replaced Roberto Martínez after Portugal’s round-of-16 exit at the World Cup.

Jesus said on Wednesday that he was not planning to start Ronaldo against Denmark in the Nations League. He rejected suggestions of a falling-out and said Ronaldo had told him he would accept any decision he made. “It seems like there was an issue between us, but there was no issue,” Jesus told reporters before Ronaldo announced that he was leaving camp.

The tension had built over several days. Ronaldo did not play in Portugal’s 2-1 win over Norway on Sunday and had not trained with the group since, fuelling talk of a spat with the coach. Jesus said Ronaldo would train normally on Wednesday, but Ronaldo left instead.

Jesus acknowledged Ronaldo’s stature, but drew a line. He said the “rules are the same for everyone.” He also made clear who controls selection, saying “no player will ever make a decision for me”.

The coach also admitted he mishandled the Norway game. He said he had told Ronaldo he would get at least a few minutes, then changed course because of the match situation. Jesus added that it was a mistake to send Ronaldo to warm up for so long without using him and said “any player” would be upset.

Ronaldo had started Portugal’s 1-0 win over Wales last Thursday before going off in the 67th minute. On Tuesday, he posted an Instagram photo of himself in the Portugal kit with the national flag and a heart emoji.