Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus has revealed that he has not yet read Cristiano Ronaldo’s statement addressing their recent fallout, saying he was focused on watching the country’s Under-21 team in action.
Jesus made the disclosure on Tuesday, shortly after Ronaldo released a lengthy statement explaining the circumstances that led to his departure from Portugal’s national team camp last week.
“I didn’t read Cristiano’s statement; I was watching the Portugal U-21 game,” Jesus told reporters.
“I will now have time to read it.”
The dispute became public after Ronaldo accused the veteran coach of failing to honour commitments made regarding his playing time during the recent international window.
According to the Al Nassr forward, Jesus had assured him of approximately 30 minutes of action in Portugal’s UEFA Nations League fixture against Norway. However, the 41-year-old remained on the bench despite warming up for an extended period.
Ronaldo also claimed the coach failed to publicly clarify certain issues discussed during a subsequent meeting involving officials of the Portuguese Football Federation.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner said discussions had been held to carefully manage his playing time, but alleged that agreements reached behind closed doors were not reflected in Jesus’ public comments.
Despite his criticism of the coach, Ronaldo accepted responsibility for leaving the national team camp and issued an apology to his teammates and supporters.
“I owe an apology to my national team teammates for having left the camp,” Ronaldo said.
“Despite the absolute breakdown of trust in the head coach’s word, I shouldn’t have done it. The responsibility is mine alone.”
The Portugal captain also apologised to the nation’s supporters but maintained that the breakdown in trust influenced his decision.
Ronaldo added that he remains open to returning to the national team in the future, despite the controversy surrounding his departure.
The situation has sparked widespread debate across Portuguese football, with attention now turning to how the federation will handle the growing tension between its captain and head coach.
