Cristiano demanded the Portugal coach to be compared "with Pelé or Maradona"

BarcelonaCristiano Ronaldo remains obsessed with always being right. The veteran Portuguese forward published a statement yesterday directly attacking the national team coach Jorge Jesus, whom he accuses of having "broken his word" for not playing him in the match against Norway played in Oslo after he had warmed up for half an hour. Ronaldo left the Portuguese training camp after the argument he had with Jorge Jesus and was no longer on the bench for the match played against the Scandinavians on Portuguese soil. Without him, the national team has continued winning its matches, while the Portuguese press wonders if the retirement of the 41-year-old footballer is not already approaching.

In an extensive statement released to the press, Cristiano Ronaldo wanted to explain his version of the events, surprising everyone as he explained that he had asked the coach to publicly compare him with Diego Armando Maradona or Pelé. That is, with the best players of all time, without mentioning Messi, with whom he has always rivaled. The statement caused a great stir, as it gave a surprising version of the events, since it is unlikely that a coach would accept being forced to read a statement like the one made public by the footballer born on the island of Madeira.

The events happened last week, when the Portuguese played two Nations League matches away from home, first in Norway and then in Denmark. Against the Norwegians, the current Al Nassr Saudi player did not play a single minute, even though he was warming up on the sidelines. By not playing a single minute, the footballer allegedly argued with the coach, finally deciding to leave the training camp when he heard Jorge Jesus say in a press conference prior to the Denmark match that he would not play a single minute. According to Cristiano, Jorge Jesus had promised him that he would play 30 minutes against Norway, which finally did not happen. "The rest, everyone already knows. I was warming up from halftime, I saw how the minutes passed and they didn't call me. The coach had not kept his word," he said.

After that match, Cristiano Ronaldo, Jesus and Simão Coutinho, sporting director of his club, the Saudi Al-Nassr, held a meeting marked by "intense, very direct treatment, without any filter", in which, according to the player, it was agreed that Jorge Jesus would close the matter at the press conference by "telling the truth". According to the footballer, the idea was that Jorge Jesus would apologize to him in public by stating that "I never asked to play a single minute. It was the coach who proposed the plan for this training camp to me and it was his mistake to have me warm up only not to put me on the field later". Jorge Jesus is an experienced coach who has managed the main Portuguese teams and has also won titles in Brazil. After the Portuguese disappointment in the last World Cup, when the coach was the Catalan Robert Martínez, he has taken charge of the national team.

The former Madrid and Manchester United player reasoned that during the conversations with the new coach "I felt expressions and an aggressiveness that I consider I do not deserve, an attitude that he had never shown me, neither from afar nor up close, in private". But despite this tension, in that meeting it was agreed to write a document that was delivered to the coach so that he would read it during the press conference before the duel against the Danes, with eight points.

A surprising statement

One of these points stated that Cristiano had been "exemplary, loyal and professional", highlighting how he "lives and loves the national team and the weight he has in the world". The point also highlighted "the positive influence he has had on the national team for 24 consecutive years". In this alleged statement that Jorge Jesus had refused to read during the press conference, the new coach was supposed to say that "I was wrong to make someone of the stature of Pelé or Maradona warm up only not to field him. If it were today, I wouldn't do it". Of course, Jorge Jesus not only did not compare him to these players, but he made it clear that the decisions were his and that Cristiano would not play against the Danes either. Portugal, without Cristiano, would win all these matches.

The veteran coach, who has won many titles in Portugal and Brazil, also recalled that Cristiano is no longer the same as before, as he is 40 years old and plays in a league with less rhythm like the Saudi one. Seeing how Jesus did not read the statement, the Portuguese captain decided to leave the training camp "without waiting for any other promise to be broken. For me, the truth remains the most important thing in relationships between people. As much as it hurts, let them tell me the truth. Never, at any time, have I interfered in any technical or tactical decision of any coach or manager in almost 25 years of career. I respect the decisions and when they don't keep their word, I feel that my place is not there", justified the goalscorer.

Cristiano did apologize to his teammates on the Portugal national team: "Despite the absolute lack of trust in the coach's word, as those who attended these conversations will be able to testify, I should not have done it. The responsibility for leaving the training camp is exclusively mine. I apologize to the Portuguese once again, but the breach of word has, for me, a decisive impact. I felt that, from then on, my stay would only harm the work group and I did what I always said I would do if I didn't feel useful: I packed my bags and left".

Cristiano has also shown himself to be open to a possible sanction: "I am not just any player, I am the team captain and that constitutes an aggravating circumstance. I have already apologized, but I know that attitudes must have consequences". For the moment, the Federation has not fined him for leaving the national team but Jorge Jesus does not seem willing to back down from everything he has done.