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Now things could be really tough for Cristiano Ronaldo. After the surprising departure from the Portuguese team camp, the football association has pulled the ripcord. Ronaldo is temporarily suspended. A clause of the association applies. The internal rules of the Portuguese association stipulate an automatic provisional ban if you leave the team camp without permission.
Now a disciplinary committee must decide how severely the captain will be punished for his departure. A ban of one to six months for international matches is possible. If he is suspended for more than a month, he will automatically miss the Nations League games against Denmark and Wales.
The superstar has since apologized to fans and teammates for his hasty departure. He is also said to have admitted that his behavior deserved consequences. Ronaldo is also said to have assured that he would accept the disciplinary body's decision without reservations. An admission of guilt that could smooth things over - but does not automatically prevent the impending punishment.
The 41-year-old offensive player had only recently emphasized that he wanted to continue to help Portugal. But does anyone still want that? After the team desertion and the threat of punishment, Ronaldo's future in the Portuguese national team seems uncertain.
Al-Nassr fans celebrate Cristiano Ronaldo
The explosion was triggered by frustration with his sporting role. Coach Jorge Jesus had announced that he would again call up Gonçalo Ramos up front. In the 2-1 win against Norway, Ronaldo missed a Portugal game for the first time in 18 years - apart from injuries and suspensions.
Then came the big bang: After discussions with association president Pedro Proença and the coach, Ronaldo left the team headquarters in Denmark, got on a private plane and was no longer seen. The superstar personally made his departure from the national team public on Instagram: "After the national coach's press conference and following a conversation with the president of the Portuguese Football Association, I made the decision to leave the national team's training camp." The multiple world footballer later publicly accused coach Jesus of breaking his word.
So far, the former star striker from Real Madrid, Manchester United and Juventus Turin has played 234 international matches for Portugal, in which he scored 146 goals - both records in international football. Defending champion Portugal won all four Nations League games in the two turbulent weeks and is in the quarter-finals early.
Meanwhile, everyday life has him back - and how. His first game after the dramatic escape went exactly to his liking. Ronaldo not only scored the opening goal in Al-Nassr FC's 3-0 (2-0) win against Al Draih in the Saudi Arabian League. The recently much-maligned superstar was also honored with a huge fan banner before kick-off.
“GREATNESS IS EARNED” was written in English in all caps, with Ronaldo’s marketing acronym “CR7” added underneath.
Perhaps inspired by this, Ronaldo immediately turned up the heat; In the 23rd minute he shot his team to a 1-0 lead. It was a winning goal after former Bayern professional Kingsley Coman failed to get past the opposing goalkeeper and he was only able to flick the ball to the side. Ronaldo celebrated the goal extensively – just like his club. "Ronaldo. A goal. His people. That feeling," wrote Al-Nassr full of pathos at X. Coman (77th) also scored later to make the final score 3-0.
For Ronaldo, it is already goal number 980 in his professional career in the hunt for the magical 1,000-goal mark. Congratulations come from the Portuguese association of all places. Somewhat surprisingly, the association wrote on X: “Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal secures victory for Al-Nassr.”
Whether the contribution is a sign of rapprochement remains to be seen. The post always comes as a surprise. Because: Samu Costa, who played for Portugal at the World Cup, also scored for Al-Nassr. His goal went unmentioned in the Football Association's post.
