Monday, October 5, 2026 -Portugal national team coach Jorge Jesus has left the door open for Cristiano Ronaldo to return to the squad if he wishes, despite the forward walking out on his teammates.
Their dispute began last week when Jesus left 41-year-old
Ronaldo on the bench for Portugal's first win over Norway. Ronaldo subsequently
walked out on the squad on Wednesday after learning he would not start against
Denmark.
"For me, Cris, in the next call-up, if he's playing at
Al-Nassr, he'll be a player who can be called up," Jesus told reporters,
referring to Ronaldo's Saudi club side. "If he wants to, he'll return to
the national team."
The coach said if Ronaldo wishes to speak to him before
Portugal's next matches in November, that would happen.
"If he wants to, as we did before this call-up, we
talked before the call-up, we can talk before the next call-up," continued
Jesus. "But Cris is the one who's going to decide."
Former Real Madrid and Manchester United attacker Ronaldo is
Portugal's all-time leading scorer and most-capped player.
Jesus said he had told Ronaldo he needed him in the squad
for his first games at the helm after replacing Roberto Martinez following the
2026 World Cup.
"Cristiano should end his time in the national team the
way he wants, he's the one who will decide how he wants it," said Jesus.
"That's how we talked, the two of us -- I said, 'I need
you'. In my first call-up, I said, 'I need you, I need you to be close to me,
playing or not playing, I need you'. And now I'm saying the same thing."
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