By Opta Analyst | Created at 2026-10-01 17:24:51 | Updated at 2026-10-02 04:14:56
12 hours ago
After leaving Portugal’s training camp, it would seem Cristiano Ronaldo’s international career has come to a tense end. It didn’t need to be like this.
Cristiano Ronaldo was – surprisingly to some – philosophical, realistic about his standing in the Portuguese national team.
Following years of debate about whether Portugal were better off with or without him in the starting XI, their former talisman appeared to accept that his role under strong-willed new coach Jorge Jesus – whom he’d previously worked with at Al Nassr – might be somewhat diminished, on the pitch at least.
“If the coach decides the best thing for the team is for me to start on the bench, I’ll accept that perfectly,” he told RTP after starting last week’s 1-0 UEFA Nations League win over Wales. “I’m here to help the national team in whatever way is needed. If I don’t get to play, that’s no problem either; the most important thing is for the team to win and for the group to be united.
“I’ve always said that the group is above any individual player and I am fully available to fulfil whatever role is assigned to me.”
Fast-forward a week and Portugal are embroiled in a Ronaldo-shaped crisis, with the world-record holder for men’s international caps unlikely to feature for his country again.
Despite being “fully available to fulfil whatever role is assigned to me”, Ronaldo didn’t appear to appreciate being an unused substitute during Sunday’s 2-1 win away to Norway. At full-time, he marched straight down the tunnel instead of joining his teammates in acknowledging the travelling Portugal supporters.
Then, everything came to a head on Wednesday. Ronaldo confirmed he’d left the Portuguese training camp following “a conversation with the president of the Portuguese Football Federation” regarding Jorge Jesus’ pre-match press conference ahead of Thursday’s clash with Denmark.
Ronaldo had, predictably, been a key topic in the press conference. While Jesus acknowledged he “made a mistake” asking Ronaldo to warm up for 30 minutes, also insisting reports of his captain refusing to train were wide of the mark, he made it abundantly clear who was calling the shots.
“I can say to any player that you’re starting on the bench,” he said. “If I need you for 30 minutes, you’re going to play; if I don’t need you, you’re not going to play.
“The way I was reading the game [against Norway], [Ronaldo] didn’t come on. Because it’s not Cristiano, just like it will never be any player that will change my ideas as the coach. Never.
“Not him, not anyone in football. Not him, not anyone, not any president. Never. Zero.”
Could Jesus have taken a softer approach? Perhaps, but there’s also a strong argument Portugal have required a coach with such a personality for a long time, someone with the conviction and bravery to make tough – maybe even controversial – decisions.
Fernando Santos had seemingly paved the way for Ronaldo to be phased out when he dropped the centre-forward for Portugal’s last-16 clash with Switzerland at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. His replacement, Gonçalo Ramos, scored a hat-trick in a 6-1 win.
But after losing to Morocco in the quarter-finals, Santos left his post and was ultimately succeeded by Roberto Martínez, under whom Ronaldo remained one of the first names on the team sheet.
He started nine of Portugal’s 10 Euro 2024 qualifying games and all five of their matches at the finals. Ronaldo was also in the line-up for five of their six qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, plus all five of their outings at the tournament in North America as Portugal finished second in their group and made it only as far as the last 16.
Ronaldo did, in fairness, have a good goalscoring record under Martínez, but long before he was hired there’d been debates about whether the former Real Madrid and Manchester United forward offered enough to the wider team to justify starting so often. In a modern age where out-of-possession intensity and pressing are almost sacrosanct, deploying a player who contributes little to that is a luxury few teams can afford against the best opposition. And those who can must build a team capable of shouldering the extra workload, like Argentina did for many years, successfully, with Lionel Messi.
Against Spain at the 2026 World Cup, Ronaldo had just 19 touches in 90 minutes, and none of those came after the 80th minute despite the game being 0-0 until stoppage time.
A few days earlier, however, Martínez had withdrawn Ronaldo – much to his apparent displeasure – in the 81st minute against Croatia with the score 1-1. Ramos had been introduced a little earlier, but with Ronaldo out of the way, he became the focal point of the attack and scored a dramatic late winner to send Portugal through.
Who’s to say the outcome against Spain would have been any different had Ramos (or anyone else for that matter) started instead of Ronaldo, though it was peculiar he didn’t get on at all, even if Martínez was reserving him for 30 minutes of extra-time that never materialised as Spain scored a late winner. It felt like the Portugal coach failed to heed a valuable lesson from the Croatia game.
While Ronaldo’s quality over the years obviously transcends most competitions he’s played in, it’s also worth noting that his goalscoring record in the World Cup wasn’t especially extraordinary anyway. Sure, only eight players have netted more, but Ronaldo’s came in 27 appearances; seven of the eight players ahead of him have played fewer games.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t hugely surprising that Ronaldo didn’t retire from international football after the World Cup, nor was it much of a shock when Jesus said he was happy to continue counting on Ronaldo given they’d already worked together.
After all, Ronaldo boasts so much experience and aura that, were he to accept a reduced playing role, he could still offer a considerable amount to the squad through his influence and standing in the game.
It was perfectly understandable that Jesus might want to keep him around in that respect, and given Ronaldo is 41, you’d think he’d possess the self-awareness and maturity to recognise he might no longer be the best option to regularly lead the line.
Or maybe that was naïve, fanciful thinking.
It’s probably a little hyperbolic to suggest this episode will tarnish Ronaldo’s legacy with the national team, though. When people look back on his Portugal career in five, 10, 15 or 20 years’ time, they will focus on the astonishing number of caps (234) and goals (142), both of which are records for men’s international football, and the fact he captained them to their first major tournament success at Euro 2016. Some may even mention the two Nations League titles if that competition’s importance increases.
Yash Thakur / Data AnalystIn the grand scheme of things, his presumably final days in the national team will probably only ever be a footnote, featured only in the deep dives and the most detailed of lookbacks.
In the moment it does seem a shame for one of the most remarkable international careers ever to seemingly end in such a fractious, unnecessary manner. But without the circus and incessant debating about his presence, the Portugal of 2026 and beyond might ultimately be better off without this Ronaldo.
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