‘Apologize?’—Jorge Jesus Isn’t Giving Cristiano Ronaldo a Free Pass for Storming Off
If Cristiano Ronaldo is waiting for an apology from manager Jorge Jesus to resume his Portugal national team career, he might be waiting so long that he never gets one.
Ronaldo turns 42 years old in early 2027 and is already men’s international soccer’s world-record holder for caps (234) and goals (146). But he chose to continue making himself available for Portugal after the 2026 World Cup, only to walk out in the first camp since.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner left the temporary team’s base in Malmö, Sweden last week in the buildup to a Nations League encounter with nearby Denmark. He’d earlier started the opening match against Wales in Lisbon, but was left on the bench for the next win against Norway.
Ronaldo didn’t train with his teammates the day before facing Denmark. But while Portuguese reports initially suggested things with Jesus were smoothed over, things quickly blew up when the No. 7 then left the camp altogether. His jersey number was reassigned as per international match rules and Portugal has continued winning without him, beating both Denmark and then Norway again. Ronaldo was back in Saudi Arabia on Monday, training with Al Nassr.
Jesus appeared taken aback when a reporter asked him in the wake of the second Norway match, held in Porto on Sunday, if he planned to apologize to Ronaldo.
“What did you say? Apologize?” a bemused Jesus replied.
“To whom am I apologizing? What did I do to have to apologize?”
‘Ronaldo Is a Man of Principles’
Ronaldo’s influential friends have publicly rushed to his defense and Piers Morgan, with whom the soccer icon did an incendiary interview in 2022 that helped prematurely end his second Manchester United career, claims Jesus is guilty of broken promises.
On Football Uncensored, the sporting offshoot of Piers Morgan Uncensored, the outspoken media personality spoke of “absolute guarantees” Ronaldo had from Jesus about his role during this Nations League window. “It was one of the reasons he decided to continue his international career,” Morgan said. “The new guy, Jorge Jesus, who knows him from Saudi Arabia, agreed he would play the first two games and would be rested for the next two.
“The first game he was told, ‘You get 90 minutes’ and he gets yanked after 67 minutes. So he’s a bit p---ed off and afterwards the coach apologized to him and that he would go out and explain this shouldn’t have happened. He goes out and does the opposite, he pulls a Ten Hag, where he goes out and tries to belittle and embarrass Ronaldo and put him back in his box and say, ‘All the players are as important to me,’ which also p---es off Ronaldo.”
Morgan was referencing the strained relationship Ronaldo had with his former United manager, Erik ten Hag, someone the player aired his disdain for during that 2022 interview.
Morgan went on to suggest that Ronaldo was prepared to accept a substitute role against Norway for 30 minutes in the second half, despite it being different from the original alleged agreement about game time.
“He sits there and gets warmed up for 25 minutes and never gets on the pitch. So, again, he is p---ed off at the lack of respect. For him, it is a question of respect, being promised one thing then the opposite happening, being warmed up and not used.
“Eventually he went, ‘F--- you,’ and got on a plane and left.”
Morgan accused Jesus of wanting to be “the big dog and humiliate” Ronaldo, adding that it could result in the all-time great ultimately not having a farewell match with Portugal.
Rio Ferdinand, who played with Ronaldo for six years in Manchester, claims the handling of the situation from Portugal has been “poor,” although he still thinks a “rekindling” is likely.
“There’s no way you should be letting your best product, your best ambassador, the most iconic guy your country has ever had or is ever going to see, be in a position where he’s got to walk away,” Ferdinand said in a video on his self-titled YouTube channel.
“None us know what’s gone on behind the scenes. But I do know one thing: Cristiano is a man of principles and he stands on what he believes. If he feels he’s been done wrong in a situation, or something hasn’t played out the way it might have been agreed, then he’s not going to accept that. I respect that. There’s a lot of people that would accept it and cower away from it. He knows his value and worth.”
Ferdinand also called on Jesus to apologize. “The coach needs to come out and apologize. He has to come and say, ‘I judged this situation wrong.’ They’re trying to settle the situation, they’re panicking behind the scenes,” he said.
Ronaldo’s Portugal Career Doesn’t Have to be Over
Jesus isn’t minded to apologize but he’s not closing the door on Ronaldo either.
“As far as I’m concerned, everything is open,” the 72-year-old former Al Nassr manager said.
All Ronaldo has to do is continue playing at club level and accept the call in November, when Portugal is scheduled to finish the Nations League opening round with final matches against Denmark (home) and Wales (away).
“It’s up to Cris to decide his own life. In the next call-up, if Cris is playing and wants to be in the national team, why not?” Jesus said. “Resentment? Nothing, it was a misunderstanding. In my opinion, it’s easy to resolve. It’s not up to me. To reach an agreement with two people, both people need to talk and agree. That's not up to me.
“We talked before this squad and we can talk before the next one. It’s Cris who will decide.”
Portugal has been in a similar situation with Ronaldo before. He fell out with former manager Fernando Santos over a reaction to being substituted during the 2022 World Cup, subsequently starting each knockout round on the bench. On that occasion, Portugal didn’t have to deal with the fallout, with Santos fired off the back of a disappointing tournament.
Four years on, it would be a lot harder to back an even older Ronaldo contributing less and less over the manager Portugal has backed to lead it through Euro 2028 and on to a home World Cup in 2030.
