Pedro Sousa, the executive director of the Portuguese newspaper "Record," revealed the intriguing behind-the-scenes details of the crisis between Cristiano Ronaldo and Jorge Jesus, the manager of the Portuguese national team, after he was relegated to the bench in the previous match against Norway.
Ronaldo watched Portugal's 2-1 victory over Norway in the UEFA Nations League from the bench, just days after playing for 65 minutes against Wales.
Sousa confirmed that the Al-Nassr captain made significant efforts to ensure the coach took charge of leading the national team, before things changed differently from what both parties had previously agreed upon.
Sousa explained that Ronaldo and Jesus reached a mutual understanding last August, prior to the announcement of the national team squad, regarding the regulation of the Portuguese star's participation during the upcoming period and not relying on him in all matches, as part of an agreement considering the player's circumstances and his international future.
According to Sousa's statements via the "Now Canal" network, the agreement was not an official announced plan, but rather a mutual understanding between the two parties regarding the matches Ronaldo would participate in. They agreed that he would play in four specific fixtures during that period, with a later reassessment of the situation to determine the possibility of his return to the national team next November.
However, Sousa pointed out that Jesus began handling matters differently from what had been previously agreed, arguing that the coach is required to clarify the reasons for this change, especially if he wants to discuss the nature of the understanding that connected him with Ronaldo before the squad announcement, indicating a discrepancy between what was agreed upon and what actually happened.
Discuss topics and news more deeply inKooora ForumsHe added that Jesus promised Ronaldo a chance to play for 30 minutes, but he did not keep this promise, which raised questions about how the agreement between the two parties was managed, especially since the player had contributed, according to Sousa's account, to supporting the coach's appointment to his current position with the Portuguese national team.
Sousa emphasized that the understanding between Ronaldo and Jesus was based on defining a number of matches in which the player would participate, while postponing the decision on his status regarding the November camp to a later time. He affirmed that what happened does not align with the vision set by both parties in August, and changing the agreement in this manner does not seem like a nice thing to do.
It is worth noting that Ronaldo refused to stay on the pitch after the final whistle and headed directly to the dressing room, while all members of the national team waited to greet the fans.
