Cristiano Ronaldo suspended. A decisive reaction from the Portuguese federation

In a statement on Saturday, the authorities of the Portuguese football federation specified that they had launched a procedure to explain the sudden departure of the national team, which Ronaldo decided to do just before the match against Denmark in Copenhagen.

Ronaldo unexpectedly left the national team training camp

After Portugal won the match against Norway (2-1) in Oslo on September 27 this year, Ronaldo left the national team training camp because he was dissatisfied with the fact that he did not appear on the pitch. He had previously refused to participate in training with the team and trained individually in the gym of the hotel where the Portuguese team was staying.

Later, the star issued a statement in which he explained his attitude by the alleged lack of loyalty on the part of coach Jorge Jesus, who - as he wrote - allegedly cheated on him regarding his appearances in LN matches.

The reaction of the Portuguese federation

The federation's management said on Saturday that the matter of clarifying the incident under the disciplinary procedure is treated as "urgent". If the player is found guilty, Ronaldo may be punished with a break of several months from playing for the national team. So far, he has scored 146 goals in 234 matches, which makes him a record holder not only in Portuguese but also in world football.

41-year-old Ronaldo, as noted by the Portuguese media, was increasingly the target of criticism from sports commentators and fans. They accuse him of putting individual successes ahead of the good of the national team and of lacking respect for the coaches. They note that despite the absence of Cristiano in the team, the national team managed to secure promotion to the next stage of the Nations League after just four matches.

Portugal achieved a complete set of victories and leads the group table, ahead of Denmark, Wales and Norway. Ronaldo played his last match on September 24 against Wales at Lisbon's Alvalade Stadium, which the hosts won 1-0. Coach Jesus took him off the field in the 66th minute, which clearly upset the player.

The player, who in the past defended the colors of Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus Turin, has been playing for the Saudi club Al-Nassr since 2023. In the 2025/26 season, his coach was Jorge Jesus.