‘Is this the end?’ - Cristiano Ronaldo’s future with Portugal unclear after veteran star leaves team

MADRID (AP):

Cristiano Ronaldo’s abrupt decision to leave Portugal’s training camp after an apparent rift with coach Jorge Jesus has left many wondering about his future in international football.

Is he done with Portugal? Or will he make peace with his coach and be back for the next international break?

There were few answers yesterday, a day after the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football decided to walk out on Portugal’s training camp in a decision announced a few hours after Jesus said the star forward would not start the game against Denmark in the Nations League.

The 41-year-old Ronaldo, who played in his sixth World Cup this year, only said that in due course, he would “tell the Portuguese people the truth about the reasons” behind his departure.

The federation also gave few details, saying only that Ronaldo left the training camp and the rest of the team would remain focused on yesterday’s game against Denmark.

There was already a new holder of Ronaldo’s famous No. 7 jersey, with Rafael Leão set to wear it. Because of UEFA rules, Portugal had to assign the number to another player after Ronaldo left the roster. Other players have worn the No. 7 in Ronaldo’s absence in the past.

In Portugal, the news of Ronaldo’s departure fuelled speculation that the country’s biggest sporting star, who had already hinted that this is his last season in football, would not play again for the national team.

“Is this the end?” read Thursday’s front-page headline of the JM newspaper based in Ronaldo’s native Madeira.

“A sad farewell,” the Portuguese sports paper A Bola said.

“CR7 turns his back on the national team,” read the headline on the O Jogo newspaper.

Portuguese media also reported that Portugal Prime Minister Luís Montenegro got involved in the situation, having talked individually to Ronaldo, Jesus, and federation president Pedro Proença.

Regardless of Ronaldo’s and the federation’s decisions going forward, the star player could possibly face a harsh punishment for leaving the training camp.

The federation’s disciplinary regulations say that any player who “abandons or fails to appear” without justification at a training session, match, or activity of the national teams, or any activity related to representing the federation, “shall be sanctioned with a suspension of one to six months,” in addition to a fine.

It says the “absence or abandonment shall result in the player’s automatic preventive suspension”.

Ronaldo did tell the federation that he was leaving, but it wasn’t clear whether the decision would be considered justified in accordance with the federation’s regulations.

Neither the federation nor Ronaldo’s representatives immediately responded to requests for comment by The Associated Press yesterday.

Ronaldo reportedly travelled to Madrid, his home for many years while playing for Real Madrid and where he usually stays when not playing with Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.

His social media post offered few hints about what is next.

“Following the national team coach’s news conference, and after a conversation with the president of the Portuguese football federation, I decided to leave the national team’s training camp,” Ronaldo said.

He ended his message by saying that “now is the time to wish good luck to Portugal and to all my teammates”.

Portugal defeated Denmark 4-2 in their UEFA Nations League match yesterday.