Ronaldo leaves Portugal camp after second successive starting line-up omission

• Cristiano Ronaldo left Portugal’s camp after being told he would again start on the bench against Denmark.
• Coach Jorge Jesus denied a rift with the captain and said the same rules applied to every player.
• Portugal beat Denmark 4-2 without Ronaldo, who said he would explain his departure in due course.

Cristiano Ronaldo has left Portugal’s national team camp after coach Jorge Jesus confirmed that the captain would be excluded from the starting line-up for a second successive Nations League match.

The 41-year-old forward announced his departure on Instagram late on Wednesday, following Jesus’s press conference ahead of the match against Denmark. Portugal went on to win the game 4-2 in his absence.

Ronaldo had been scheduled to train with his teammates at Copenhagen’s Parken Stadium on the eve of the fixture. Instead, he left after learning that Jesus again intended to start AC Milan striker Goncalo Ramos, who had scored the winner in Portugal’s 2-1 victory over Norway on Sunday.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner remained on the bench throughout that match, having captained Portugal in their 1-0 home win over Wales the previous Thursday.

In his statement, Ronaldo said he decided to leave the training camp after the coach’s press conference and a conversation with Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proenca.

He also suggested there was more behind his decision, saying he would explain his reasons to the Portuguese public in due course. His remarks raised questions about his future with the national team after more than two decades of international football.

Ronaldo wished Portugal and all his teammates well, stressing that his message extended to every member of the squad.

Spanish sports newspaper Marca reported that Jesus and Proenca followed Ronaldo to Copenhagen airport to try to persuade him to stay before he departed on his private jet.

Jesus had insisted earlier on Wednesday that there was no disagreement between him and Ronaldo. The 72-year-old coach, appointed in July, acknowledged that the forward was disappointed after warming up against Norway without being brought on.

The match in Oslo was the first time since November 2024 that Ronaldo had not played for Portugal while neither injured nor suspended.

Jesus, who previously coached Ronaldo for a year at Saudi club Al-Nassr, said he had told the forward before the Norway match that he might use him as a substitute. He subsequently decided against making that change and maintained that no incident had occurred.

The coach said disappointment was understandable for any player who spent 20 or 30 minutes warming up without entering the game. Ahead of the Denmark fixture, he made clear that Ronaldo’s involvement would depend on the team’s needs.

Portugal’s convincing victory on Thursday did little to shift attention away from the captain’s departure, with Jesus facing repeated questions about Ronaldo at his post-match press conference.

Jesus praised his side’s four-goal performance, describing it as being of a very high standard and saying the result deserved greater attention than the events surrounding the squad.

He acknowledged that certain players held a special status but maintained that the same rules applied to everyone.

There were also reports that Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro had discussed Ronaldo’s involvement with Jesus on Wednesday.

The departure prompted widespread reaction on social media, including memes and an angry response from Ronaldo’s sister, Elma Aveiro. In an Instagram post, she criticised the Portuguese public, accusing them of envy, contempt and ignorance, and suggested they deserved a return to the country’s footballing fortunes before the CR7 era.

Ronaldo recently indicated that this would probably be his final year in football. He remains Portugal’s record goalscorer and most capped player, with 146 goals in 234 appearances.

The former Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus forward made his international debut in 2003 at the age of 18. He played in the Euro 2004 final, which Portugal lost to Greece, helped his country reach the 2006 World Cup semi-finals and captained the team to the European Championship title in 2016.

Portugal’s campaign at this year’s World Cup ended in the last 16, when Ronaldo and his teammates were eliminated by eventual champions Spain.