Jesus reportedly refused to oblige to Ronaldo in final talks! - Source: Getty
Jesus reportedly refused to oblige to Ronaldo in final talks! - Source: Getty
Cristiano Ronaldo decided to retire from international football after his demand for an apology from Jorge Jesus did not arrive, according to Portuguese journalist Pedro Sepúlveda.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Sepúlveda claimed Jesus and federation president Pedro Proença spent the days before Cristiano Ronaldo's retirement announcement trying to talk the 41-year-old into returning to the national team.
Ronaldo confirmed the decision in a video on Thursday, handing back the No. 7 shirt after 234 caps and a men’s record 146 goals. The rift had been building since the September-October window, when he was left on the bench for the 2-1 win in Norway after warming up, then walked out of the camp before the Denmark game over what he called broken promises.
His last cap was the 1-0 win over Wales in Lisbon on September 24. The Portuguese federation fined him and gave him a 30-day suspension, and in October he said he would be available again once it had been served.
The contact, Sepúlveda said, was genuine:
"Both Jorge Jesus and Pedro Proença tried to contact Ronaldo in recent days, attempting to convince him to rejoin the national team, especially since Ronaldo had given them a glimmer of hope."
But Cristiano Ronaldo had a condition of his own:
"To be frank, Ronaldo wanted a public apology from Jorge Jesus, while Jesus confirmed that he would never apologize to any player."
Notably, Jesus had made his stance clear in public as well. He asked reporters after the second Norway game in Porto what he was meant to be apologizing for, and insisted that no player would change his thinking.
Sepúlveda added:
"Ronaldo wants something, and Jesus has made it clear he will not give it to him. Therefore, Cristiano’s time under Jesus’s management with the Portuguese national team is definitively over."
Bernardo Silva is the new Portugal captain, with the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo and Ruben Neves next in line in the leadership group.
Jorge Jesus names new-look Portugal squad without Cristiano Ronaldo for upcoming games
Jesus named a 28-man squad on Friday with seven new faces: Alberto Costa, António Silva, Mateus Fernandes, Carlos Forbs, Geovany Quenda, Rodrigo Mora and Gustavo Varela.
Porto right back Costa and Monza forward Varela are first-time call-ups. Francisco Conceição is suspended after his red card in Norway, Nuno Mendes is injured and Gonçalo Inácio was left out.
The coach said he had expected to include Cristiano Ronaldo:
"I thought he would return. I certainly intended to call him up. Taking Cris’s words, we want to focus on the renewal and future of the national team."
Portugal have won all four Group A4 games in the UEFA Nations League and need a point to finish top. They host Denmark in Braga on November 14 and travel to Wales three days later.