Portuguese newspaper "Record" revealed new details behind the crisis that erupted between Cristiano Ronaldo, captain of the Portuguese national team, and Jorge Jesus, the team's head coach, which ended with the Saudi Al-Nassr star leaving the national team camp in the Danish capital, Copenhagen.
According to "Record," the dispute between Ronaldo and Jesus had reached a stage of intense tension before the two held a private meeting after dinner, during which things appeared to be heading toward resolution and ending the disagreement.
The newspaper explained that another matter was a decisive point in finally resolving the crisis: how Jorge Jesus would speak about the incident to the media during the press conference ahead of the match against Denmark.
Ronaldo wanted not to feel disrespected again, especially after the incident where he sat on the bench against Norway, despite having participated in warm-ups for a long period during the match.
However, Jorge Jesus' press conference caused the crisis to reignite, as the coach spoke about the incident in a manner inconsistent with what had been discussed between him and Ronaldo during their meeting, according to what the Portuguese newspaper revealed.
"Record" confirmed that what happened at the press conference was the moment that "detonated the bomb," leading to Ronaldo's decision to leave the national team camp, despite indications just hours earlier pointing toward containing the crisis.
The Portuguese Football Federation had confirmed Ronaldo's departure from the national team camp, while the player announced via his social media accounts that he would reveal the full truth to the Portuguese fans at the appropriate time.
The crisis comes after Ronaldo's absence from the match against Norway, which ended in a 2-1 victory for Portugal, before matters escalated during the national team's preparations for the match against Denmark in the UEFA Nations League.
