Cristiano Ronaldo’s retirement from international football has exposed the depth of his strained relationship with Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus, with the legendary forward reportedly making his decision without informing the manager beforehand.
The 41-year-old announced his retirement on Thursday, November 5, bringing an end to an extraordinary 23-year international career with Portugal. However, the circumstances surrounding his announcement have attracted as much attention as the decision itself.
According to comments made by Jorge Jesus on Friday, the Portuguese manager had absolutely no prior knowledge of Ronaldo’s retirement and only discovered the decision when the forward publicly announced it.
Speaking at a press conference, Jesus revealed that he had still planned to include Ronaldo in his squad for Portugal’s upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures.
“I found out when we all did. Until then, I knew nothing about it,” Jesus said, according to BBC Sport.
The manager further explained that Ronaldo was still performing well at club level and remained part of his selection plans.
“He was playing, he was scoring goals; he was one of the players on my squad list.”
Ronaldo reportedly informed federation president instead
Reports surrounding the decision indicate that Ronaldo communicated his intention to leave international football directly to Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) president Pedro Proença rather than informing Jorge Jesus.
This is particularly significant given the history between the two men, who previously worked together at Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr.
Their relationship reportedly deteriorated following disagreements over Ronaldo’s role in the national team, particularly after the forward was left unused during Portugal’s 2–1 victory over Norway in September.
The situation escalated on September 30, when Ronaldo abruptly left Portugal’s training camp in Copenhagen following a press conference in which Jesus confirmed that he would not start the upcoming match against Denmark.
Ronaldo subsequently announced his departure from the camp on social media, explaining that his decision followed the manager’s press conference and a conversation with the federation president.
In another revelation, Jesus insisted that he had intended to bring Ronaldo back into the national team after the veteran forward completed his 30-day suspension.
The suspension followed his September departure from the national team camp, although it did not prevent him from continuing his club career with Al-Nassr.
Jesus said he had planned to speak with Ronaldo and believed the striker would remain available for selection.
The Portuguese manager also rejected suggestions that he felt responsible for the retirement, maintaining that his decisions had always been made in the interests of the national team.
He reportedly acknowledged that the events might have accelerated Ronaldo’s departure but insisted he had no regrets about his managerial decisions.