Ronaldo in conflict with the Portuguese coach after being omitted from the Nations League matches

Cristiano Ronaldo did not finish Portugal's match against Wales (1-0) in the Nations League on Thursday, and was left on the bench in Sunday's match against Norway (2-1). According to the media, the star was said to have felt offended by the decisions of coach Jorge Jesus.

Ronaldo in the gym instead of training

On Tuesday, Ronaldo did not take part in the national team's training, which was confirmed by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) without giving the reasons for the striker's absence. According to the media, he had a sharp conflict with the coach who took over the national team after this year's World Cup.

The media reminds that just a few months ago Jesus managed Ronaldo in the Saudi club Al-Nassr, which also has Portuguese midfielder Joao Felix. While the latter scored one goal each against Wales and Norway, Ronaldo played only 67 minutes in the first match.

According to the media, Ronaldo refused to participate in training with the team on Tuesday and went alone to the hotel gym, which caused a crisis within the Portuguese national team.

To avert it, late on Tuesday evening, a group of FPF activists, including the head of the association, Pedro Proenca, went to Copenhagen, where Portugal's third match in the Nations League will be played on Thursday.

An informal agreement between Ronaldo and the coach?

SIC and CMTV television established that 41-year-old Ronaldo's irritation stems from the fact that he allegedly had an informal agreement with the coach regarding the LN matches in which he was to appear on the pitch. However, Jorge Jesus did not fulfill his goal, relying on the younger and more effective Goncalo Ramos in Portugal's recent matches.

The information about Ronaldo's rebellion was caused by negative opinions about the captain of the Portuguese national team. One of the critics is former footballer and TV commentator Pedro Henriques. He criticized the fact that there were alleged agreements regarding Ronaldo's play between the player, the coach and the head of the federation.

Another commentator and former teammate of Ronaldo's national team, Marco Caneira, sided with the coach. He stressed that Jorge Jesus "cannot go around the players' rooms to secretly agree with them who will play in the match and who will not."

Ronaldo old and unnecessary?

In turn, SIC commentator Francisco Guimaraes added that although the fans have become accustomed to Ronaldo's bluster, now they are unjustified because the player is too old and unnecessary to the national team.

With the whole situation, Ronaldo has proven that he does not deserve the captain's armband. He is more interested in his individual goals than the good of the team, concluded Guimaraes.

In 234 matches for the Portuguese national team, Ronaldo scored 146 goals, which means he is the world record holder in this respect.

The player, who has been playing for Saudi Al-Nassr since 2023, is considered one of the best in the history of football, and in the past he defended the colors of Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus Turin.