Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, the Al-Nassr Saudi player, sparked widespread controversy in recent hours by leaving his national team's camp before the Nations League match against Denmark, following a dispute with Jorge Jesus, the head coach of the national team. However, he is not the first player to cause controversy during the current international break.
The situation began at the Egyptian national team camp, when Mohamed Salah, captain of the Pharaohs, left the camp the morning after the match against Angola, in which he was substituted off in the 61st minute. Despite the disagreement between Salah and Hossam Hassan, the national team's head coach, the Egyptian Football Association announced that Salah had left the camp for rest ahead of the match against South Sudan, which was played on artificial turf.
Although Hossam Hassan stated during the press conference that Salah would be present for the friendly match against South Africa, scheduled for next Sunday at Cairo International Stadium, the Trabzonspor star has still not returned to the Egyptian national team camp.
Two players leave the Egyptian national team camp
Salah is not the only player who left the Egyptian national team camp due to the pitch conditions; he was joined by Mohamed Abdelmonem, the Pharaohs' striker and Nice French club player, following an agreement between the national team's technical staff and his club.
Nice FC said in a statement on its official website: "By mutual agreement with the Egyptian national team's technical staff, Mohamed Abdelmonem left the national team camp to preserve his fitness and physical safety. This decision was made through joint coordination, given the conditions under which the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match was to be played, particularly playing on an artificial pitch, and the desire of both parties not to risk the player's health."
Algerian star joins Salah
Hours after Salah's crisis, Rayan Aït-Nouri, the Manchester City English star, left the Algerian national team camp due to his anger over not being used in the match against Zambia, which ended in a 3-1 victory for the Desert Warriors.
Rayan Aït-Nouri showed dissatisfaction while sitting on the bench, before getting into a confrontation with Moussa Saib, the General Manager of the Algerian national team, who tried to talk to him and calm the situation. Consequently, coach Ibrahim Hamdani decided to remove him from the camp.
According to AfricaSoccer, the Manchester City defender was asked to warm up twice, before the coach changed his plans and chose Adel Boulbina as the final substitute. This angered Aït-Nouri, who himself requested to leave after the match.
Ronaldo joins the list of rebels
Cristiano Ronaldo, captain of the Portuguese national team, joined the list of players who left their national team camps, arriving in the Spanish capital Madrid early this morning.
The crisis between Ronaldo and Jesus, Portugal's coach, escalated until the player came close to retiring from international football. The crisis began when Ronaldo remained on the bench throughout the Norway match, after which he missed the national team's training session in preparation for the Denmark match, scheduled for this evening.
Ronaldo left the Portuguese national team camp due to statements made by the head coach, who said: "I can promise whatever I want, I am the coach. I told Ronaldo that he will not start the match and will be on the bench. If I need him for 30 minutes, he will play, and if I don't need him, he won't play. No player will change my mind."
Ronaldo broke his silence and wrote on his official social media accounts: "After the head coach's press conference, and after speaking with the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, I have taken the decision to leave the national team camp. In due time, I will reveal the truth to all Portuguese people regarding the reasons that led me to leave the team, for which I have always dedicated myself. Now it is time to wish Portugal and all my teammates success, without exception."
