Hours ago, the media raged with the news of Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal captain, abandoning the nationl team in Copenhagen. He announced this via Instagram. Even as this is written, Ronaldo’s private jet readies to ferry him off, per Sic Noticias. This recent turn of events comes as a slap in the face of CR7’s confident words at the beginning of the international break, announcing, “I still believe that I’m able to help the national team reach what they want.”
What went wrong?
Ronaldo’s run with the Portugal team, however brief, has been plagued with controversy after controversy. First, the his mere call-up to play for his ation as he has done for last 23 years aroused wide-spread criticism. His age, his mobility and utility to the team, and so on was called into question. TS Sports understands that pundits on ESPN, Luis Figo for example, took Portugal to task for their unwillingness to “move on” without the veteran forward. This was also the current of tempers online; the Internet has acquired a new fondness for calling Ronaldo a “manbaby” given to tantrums and meanness, and even “Homelander,” after a psychopathic and narcissistic character of the TV show The Boys.
To add to this, the new manager of the national team, the recalcitrant Jorge Jesus, seeing no place for a player of Ronaldo’s “characteristics” in his plans has adamantly condemned him to being, as some say, an “unused substitute.” This has naturally attracted the ire of Ronaldo. After Portugal’s 2-1 win against Norway on Sunday, the 41-year heavyweight had stormed off into the tunnel, without going out to the pitch to greet the Portugese fans. His annoyance being his uninvolvement in the match, the coach had failed to give him minutes.
It was at this juncture that the whole issue came to a head. Jesus, moreover, has maintained the superiority of his position as manager, saying in his press conference ahead of the faceoff with Denmark on Thursday:
“I’m the coach. I told the player he wasn’t going to play. [I said] ‘I’m going to put you on the bench. If I need you for 30 minutes you’ll play, if not, you won’t play.’ No player will ever change my mind. Not him, not anyone in football. Not any president. Never, zero.”
Even though Jesus, who is known for his hardline managerial style, has denied any previous fallout with Ronaldo who he calls Cris, this statement, and many others before it, suggest a tense, strained relationship with Ronaldo in the locker room. Especially as news had surfaced that Ronaldo occasionally missed training sessions, per A Bola.
What the PFF tried to do
Earlier today, the Portugese news outlet Record had reported the emergency meeting that was to hold between the trio of Ronaldo, Jorge Jesus, and Pedro Proença, the Portuguese Football Federation (PFF) president. This was the first (and unknown to anyone at the time, the last) of formal attempts to stem the tensions smouldering between the egos of the mercurial manager and Ronaldo. It is, however, safe to assume that Ronaldo’s sudden departure from the national team can be tied to whatever was said during the meeting. And also that both player and country are clear-eyed about their decisions. The official statement from the PFF is forward-looking (“The entire delegation remains fully focused on the National Team upcoming fixtures and on achieving the set objectives”) so is Ronaldo’s, even darkly so:
“In time, I will tell all the Portuguese the truth about the reasons that motivated me to leave the national team.”
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