Cristiano Ronaldo leaves the Portugal national team camp following 'coach's decision' to bench him vs. Norway

Jorge Jesus has denied any issues with the legendary Portuguese striker despite multiple reports

Sep 30, 2026 at 1:28 pm ET • 2 min read

Portugal manager Jorge Jesus has denied rumours of a difficult relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo, after the Al-Nassr striker didn't train for the last two days after sitting on the bench on Sunday against Norway. Jesus, who also coached Ronaldo last season in Saudi Arabia, said it was planned for him not to train with the team in the last two days as he won't be playing on Thursday against Denmark in the third match of UEFA Nations League, but will be on the pitch against Norway in the last match of the international break on Sunday. 

Emergency crisis meetings were reported to have taken place in Denmark between the coach, the player and Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proenca as Ronaldo was reportedly not happy after not playing on Sunday during the 2-1 win against Norway. He went into the tunnel immediately after the final whistle and did not celebrate with his teammates. 

Speaking on the matter, Jorge Jesus said, "They forced me to talk to him about an issue that wasn't even an issue. There was nothing to talk about. He never trains on the first or second day after a game. He never refused anything. If you look, he's training today. Do you think any player at the level of a national team would refuse to train? Only if he wanted to leave. Nobody refuses to train." However, according to multiple reports, Ronaldo did not take part in the training session after the press conference and left the stadium, missing his third consecutive day of training with the team.

Jorge Jesus added, "Don't try to make a fuss where there isn't one. It was a coach's decision; I had a plan. I can say to any player that you're starting on the bench; 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), he 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." 

Cristiano Ronaldo was included in Jesus' first squad as Portugal manager, as the 72-year-old took over from Roberto Martinez after the 2026 World Cup in the summer. Ronaldo started in the opening game against Wales on September 24 and was subbed off in the 65th minute and replaced by Goncalo Ramos before the match against Norway, when he wasn't part of the match. Earlier this summer, Cristiano Ronaldo spoke about the possibility that this could be his final season as a professional soccer player: "This is probably my last year of football, and I want to leave a spectacular legacy."