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

BarcelonaCristiano Ronaldo remains obsessed with always being right. The veteran Portuguese forward published a statement yesterday in which he directly attacks 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 to win 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, and surprised everyone by explaining that he had asked the coach to publicly compare him to Diego Armando Maradona or Pelé. That is to say, to the best players of all time, without mentioning Messi, with whom he has always rivaled. The statement caused a great stir, as it gives a surprising version of the events, because a coach will hardly accept being forced to read a statement like the one made public by the footballer born on the island of Madeira.

The events took place 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 Saudi Al-Nassr player did not play a single minute, even though he had been warming up on the sidelines. After not playing a single minute, the footballer allegedly argued with the coach, and decided to leave the training camp when he heard Jorge Jesus say in the 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 ultimately did not happen. "Everyone knows the rest. I was warming up since half-time, I watched the minutes go by and I wasn't called. 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 "an 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 for Jorge Jesus to apologize to him in public by stating that he had not asked "to play a single minute". "It was the manager who proposed the plan for this training camp to me, and it was his mistake to make me warm up and then not put me on the pitch", says Cristiano. Jorge Jesus is an experienced coach who has managed the main Portuguese teams and who has also won titles in Brazil. After the Portuguese disappointment at the last World Cup, when the coach was the Catalan Robert Martínez, Jorge Jesus has taken charge of the national team.

"I heard expressions and an aggressiveness that I consider I do not deserve, an attitude that had never been shown to me, neither from afar nor up close, in private," says the former Madrid and Manchester United player regarding the conversations with the new coach. But despite this tension, in that meeting it was agreed to write a document that was handed to the coach for him to read 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", and highlighted how he "lives and loves the national team and the weight it has in the world". The point also highlighted "the positive influence he has had on the national team for 24 consecutive years". In this supposed statement that Jorge Jesus allegedly refused to read during the press conference, the new coach was supposed to say the following: "I was wrong to make someone of the stature of Pelé or Maradona warm up only to not field him. If it were today, I wouldn't do it". Naturally, Jorge Jesus not only did not compare him to those players, but made it clear that the decisions were his and that Cristiano would not play against Denmark either. Portugal, without Cristiano, would win all those matches.

The veteran coach, who has won many titles both 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 a lower pace like the Saudi one. After seeing that 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 the relationship between people. No matter how much it hurts, tell me the truth. Never, at any moment, 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 do not keep their word I feel that my place is not there", the scorer justifies himself.

Cristiano does apologize to his teammates on the Portugal national team: "Despite the absolute lack of trust in the coach's word, as those who attended those conversations will be able to testify, I should not have done it. The responsibility for leaving the training camp is exclusively mine. I ask the Portuguese for forgiveness 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 also shows himself 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 actions must have consequences". For the moment, the Federation has not fined him for having left the national team, but Jorge Jesus does not seem willing to go back on his decisions.