After Jorge Jesus caused Cristiano Ronaldo's sudden departure from the Portugal national team camp, the coach wrote his name into history, as Ronaldo's international story may end at his hands. This is not the first time he has dealt with stars in this manner.
Cristiano Ronaldo sparked speculation about his career with the Portuguese national team following a historic journey spanning 234 international matches, during which he scored 146 goals and participated in six World Cups and six European Championships, winning Euro 2016 and the UEFA Nations League twice.
Despite being 41 years old, the Al-Nassr star confirmed days ago during a press conference that he chose not to abandon the national team out of love for his country, saying: "I will repeat what I said; I will do whatever the coach wants from me: play, come off, or even not play. The honor I feel representing Portugal is greater than anything. It is not for any other reason. It is an honor and a passion to come to the national team."
But this statement did not last long, and after sitting on the bench for one match, a crisis erupted between him and Jesus.
The beginning of the crisis with Jorge Jesus
Ronaldo decided to leave the Portugal camp after inconsistent performances against Wales, which ended in a 1-0 victory for Portugal, and the Norway match where he remained on the bench throughout the game.
Ronaldo missed training for the first time last Tuesday, before the crisis exploded yesterday following Jorge Jesus's press conference.
Jesus said: "I can promise what I want. I am the coach. I am the coach, and I told the player (Ronaldo before the Norway match) that he would not play. I told him: I will put you on the bench. If I need you for 30 minutes, you will play, and if I don't need you, you won't play. No player will make me change my mind, neither him nor anyone in the football world. Not even the president. Never."
Minutes later, these statements were confirmed when Jesus announced that his captain would start the Denmark match on the bench.
Did Ronaldo feel betrayed?
Those close to Ronaldo considered the Portuguese coach's actions disrespectful to the player, and Spanish journalist Edo Aguirre, on the program "El Chiringuito," said: "Jorge Jesus asked Cristiano for forgiveness because he made him warm up for 30 minutes without putting him into the match. He also told him he would ask for public forgiveness. But in the press conference, he comes out with a series of lies that no one believes. Cristiano exploded because of that and felt he had been betrayed."
6 coaches.. and Ronaldo was always above calculations
Since 2003, Ronaldo has played under six managers of the Portuguese national team: Luiz Felipe Scolari, Carlos Queiroz, Paulo Bento, Fernando Santos, Roberto Martínez, and now Jorge Jesus.
Ronaldo was always an untouchable element, but unlike the period between 2009 and 2018, when he was at the peak of his career, criticism of the player began starting from the 2022 World Cup.
After Euro 2020, where he scored five goals, Ronaldo was 37 years old. He started in the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024, but scored only two goals across both tournaments—two in 2022 and none in 2024—and the same scenario repeated in the 2026 World Cup last summer.
Santos reveals the difficulty of excluding Ronaldo
In an interview with the newspaper "A Bola" in 2023, Fernando Santos, the coach who won Portugal's first European Championship title, revealed how difficult it was to inform Ronaldo, even privately, that he would start the 2022 World Cup match against Switzerland, which ended in a 6-1 victory for Portugal, on the bench.
Santos said: "I went to explain to him that he wouldn't play (he came on in the 73rd minute), but he took it badly. Since the day I returned from Qatar, we haven't spoken again."
Ronaldo.. recurring crises with Portugal's coaches
This was not the first clash between Ronaldo and Portugal's national team coaches. In the 2010 World Cup, after exiting in the Round of 16, Ronaldo directed direct criticism at Carlos Queiroz following the match.
In March 2021, he left the Serbia match after throwing the captain's armband on the ground following the disallowance of a goal. Three months later, he threw the armband again after the exit against Belgium.
During the 2022 World Cup, Fernando Santos angered his star once more by substituting him in the 66th minute against South Korea, to which Ronaldo said: "Are you in a hurry to take me off?"
But each time, Ronaldo emerged from these crises without major consequences. With Jorge Jesus, however, the scene seemed different, after the coach publicly affirmed that the player's status would not change his tactical decisions.
Jesus.. does not fear his stars
Looking back about three months, when Jesus was introduced as the manager of the Portuguese national team, he was frank and said: "The past and the name mean nothing to me. I have already coached two of the top three players in the world. And one day, I told Neymar: You, it's over."
Jesus was referring to a press conference held in January 2025, when he was the coach of Saudi club Al-Hilal, during which he announced that Neymar, whom the club signed for €90 million, would not be registered for the league.
He said: "Neymar will not be registered in the team's list for the league. The Saudi League is one of the best leagues in the world. All Al-Hilal players can play for any club in Europe. He is a player who leaves no room for doubt, a world-class player, but the truth is that Neymar is no longer physically capable of playing at the level we are used to. Things have become difficult for him."
This is not the Portuguese coach's first precedent. During his second stint with Benfica between August 2020 and December 2021, he excluded midfielder Pizzi, one of the team's prominent stars and dressing room leader, due to personal disagreements.
He also clashed with striker Óscar Cardozo during the Portuguese Cup final in 2013, and the situation escalated to the point where the striker pushed the coach in protest against being substituted early in the game.
