Portuguese reports spoke of Simao Coutinho, the sporting director of Al-Nasr Club, attending the meeting that brought together Cristiano Ronaldo and Portuguese national team coach Jorge Jesus, on Tuesday, one day before the crisis erupted and the national team captain left the camp.
According to the Portuguese newspaper Record, citing CMTV, Coutinho was a witness to everything that took place during the meeting between Ronaldo and Jesus, while Pedro Proença, president of the Portuguese Football Federation, or any other official in the federation did not attend the conversation.
The meeting came with the aim of ending the dispute related to Ronaldo's non-participation in the match against Norway, after the player and his coach spoke informally several times during the same day, before they agreed to hold a direct session to clarify the situation and close the file.
During the meeting, Ronaldo and Jesus reached an understanding regarding what happened in the Norway match, and it seemed that the crisis ended between the two parties after the direct conversation that brought them together in the presence of Al-Nassr’s sporting director.
However, this understanding only lasted hours, as the crisis returned to the forefront on Wednesday following Jesus’ press conference, causing the atmosphere to change again and the matter ended with Ronaldo leaving the Portuguese national team camp.
The crisis of Cristiano Ronaldo leaving the Portuguese national team camp has turned into an economic and commercial issue, amid warnings that the Portuguese Football Federation will lose part of its marketing value, and the possibility of some sponsors being asked to review their contracts, leading to the possibility of canceling some of them.
According to the Portuguese newspaper “Record”, which reported from the Portuguese “Lusa” agency, Carlos Coelho, president of “Effiti Brand Corp”, which specializes in trademarks, described the departure of the national team captain as an economic “earthquake”, considering that the crisis represents a “huge loss in value” that cannot be compensated for simply by achieving good results on the field.
Coelho said that the Portuguese Federation's brand will decline significantly after the crisis, adding: "There is a very significant decline due to this unexpected event, which was managed very poorly from the perspective of the value and the size of the loss it represents."
He explained that the impact is not related to the team’s sporting future or its ability to continue competing, but rather to the commercial and marketing value that Ronaldo represents, as one of the most famous football players in the world.
He added: “The team will not collapse. It will continue and play and perhaps win.” This is not the case. The issue is decreased brand value. From one moment to the next, it lost one of its assets,” pointing out that there are hundreds of millions around the world who follow Portugal’s matches because of Ronaldo, regardless of the team’s results.
Coelho warned that the repercussions of the crisis may directly affect sponsorship contracts, especially since the companies that were commercially linked to the Portuguese Federation took into account the global presence of the national team captain when signing their agreements.
He said: “Put yourselves in the shoes of a sponsor who signed a contract on the basis of linking his brand to these assets. He has more than one reason to say that the data has changed and to demand meetings, and it may even lead to canceling contracts.”
He added that local interest in the national team may remain high until it increases, but the biggest problem will be the decline in international interest, at a time when football has become a multi-billion-dollar industry that depends largely on its ability to attract audiences and expand global viewing.
The expert cited a previous experience related to victory during a visit to China, pointing out that Ronaldo's absence had a significant impact on the public attendance, in an example he used to demonstrate the commercial power enjoyed by the Portuguese star and the impact of his presence on the amount of interest in the events in which he participates.
Coelho criticized the way the crisis was managed, considering that dealing with the 41-year-old player must take into account his status and long career with the national team. He said: “The greatest asset in the history of Portuguese football should have been dealt with with respect and care.” If he is 41 years old, he cannot be managed as an athlete or in the media as if he were a 17-year-old player.”
He believed that achieving victories in the upcoming matches alone would not be sufficient to address the international commercial impact, calling for finding a new formula that preserves Ronaldo’s association with the Portuguese national team.
He added that alleviating the repercussions of the crisis requires “finding a place for Cristiano Ronaldo within the national team’s structure, and not necessarily on the field,” considering that a diplomatic solution that preserves the player’s status after more than two decades with Portugal may help limit the losses caused by the crisis.
Luis Montenegro, the Portuguese Prime Minister, entered the crisis line that followed Cristiano Ronaldo's departure from his country's national team camp in Copenhagen, after he contacted the President of the Portuguese Federation, Pedro Proenca, and spoke with coach Jorge Jesus, while reports said that he also communicated with the national team's captain.
According to the Portuguese newspaper Record, Montenegro contacted Proenza to speak to Jesus, after Ronaldo left the camp in the Danish capital.
The Portuguese channel "SEC" reported that the Prime Minister also spoke with Ronaldo, in a development that reflects the widening circle of communications related to the crisis that erupted within the national team.
Montenegro has a good relationship with Jesus, which prompted him to communicate directly with the coach, who leads the Portuguese national team against Denmark, on Thursday, at Parken Stadium, in the third round of the European Nations League.
