🚨🇵🇹 OFFICIAL: CRISTIANO RONALDO STATEMENT — “This is the truth about what happened with Jorge Jesus.”
As I promised, I’m sharing firsthand and directly the events surrounding the recent national team training camp.
After the 2026 World Cup, I prepared a letter to the Portuguese people—one I still keep—containing the words I intend to share when I finally step away from our team.
At the end of the tournament, during the flight back from the United States, the President of the Federation asked me—insisted, in fact—that I reconsider my decision to leave, as the FPF wanted me to continue.
Shortly after, he asked for my opinion on the name of the current head coach, whom he was considering among other candidates he did not disclose.
I told the President that, in my view, it would be the right choice.
That’s why, on the day the current head coach was officially presented, I was genuinely pleased. It was the correct decision—and results have since confirmed it.
A few days later, I received the first contact from the new national team coach expressing his desire to meet me in person. I agreed, and we scheduled the meeting for the end of my holidays.
We met at
Cidade do Futebol, where my club was holding its pre-season camp.
That day, the coach told me he was counting on me and that my presence was essential to his project. He laid out a plan for my involvement: I would play the first match and the last one, and due to physical management, he intended to make three or four changes per game.
Then, he raised the possibility of me not traveling with the team to Norway and Denmark. He suggested I play the first match, stay in Portugal, and rejoin before the game at the Dragão.
I immediately rejected the proposal. It seemed clear to me that I couldn’t accept it. Not playing abroad didn’t mean I should stop being captain. Being granted the privilege to stay behind wouldn’t set the right example.
In the end, the coach agreed with my reasoning.
Present during this conversation was Simão Coutinho, Al Nassr’s sporting director—the same person the current coach reported to throughout last season and who played a key role in his signing with the club in 2025.
On the eve of the camp, at the coach’s request, he came to my home in Lisbon for another discussion. The tone was calm, and all principles established in August remained unchanged.
I played the match at Alvalade. Though substituted, I had no issue with it. I personally handed the armband to Bruno Fernandes, far from imagining those might be my final steps as player and captain of the National Team. What mattered most that day was our victory. Winning is always meaningful—especially in Portugal, and for my country, even more so.
At lunchtime on matchday in Norway, one of the coach’s assistants approached the table where the squad was eating and informed me the coach wanted to speak with me.
To my complete surprise, he asked if I was physically ready to play 30 minutes. I was fully focused on recovery, fully integrated with my teammates, and expecting not to play that day—without any concern.
This request fell outside my recovery and training plan, as I wasn’t scheduled to play until the 4th at the Dragão. Still, I said yes without hesitation. He replied that I should be ready—I’d be playing 30 minutes.
The rest you already know. I warmed up after halftime, watched the clock tick, and never got called.
The coach broke his word to me.
@Uefa_Champion_Leaguee
Sport Speak