"He is the greatest in history": the president of the Portuguese Federation finally breaks his silence over the Cristiano and Jesus crisis
"Ronaldo is today the greatest symbol of Portuguese identity"
Pedro Proença has finally broken his silence. The president of the Portuguese Football Federation addressed the ongoing crisis involving Cristiano Ronaldo, the coach, and Jorge Jesus.
After yesterday's 2-1 win over Norway, the fourth and final match in this international window, Proença revealed Cristiano's position. First, though, he turned to the latest victory.
According to the newspaper "A Bola", the president voiced his complete satisfaction with this new phase.
He said: "I am extremely satisfied with this new cycle, a new coach, new methodologies, and the results speak for themselves. It has been 14 days full of hard work with 25 top-class players and a new coaching staff. We are the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals."
He added: "What we feel today is that the Portuguese people have regained their confidence in our national team. This is the product of this new coaching staff. Portuguese football has all the ingredients to win, as we have exceptional generations. This is what we promised (to restore confidence), and it has been achieved in just 14 days of work with 25 players who already know one another, all of whom have high abilities. Four wins in four matches against very strong teams."
Cristiano Ronaldo's position
The president continued: "I will not provide those clarifications (about what happened), as these are perfectly normal conversations between coaches and players. It is a technical matter, and the federation president does not interfere in such things."
He added: "We are talking about the best player of all time, a player who has dedicated more than two decades to Portuguese football. Today, Cristiano Ronaldo represents the greatest symbol of Portuguese identity, and we must honour him."
He went on: "He is in the national team thanks to his sporting merit, and this is beyond dispute. He will always remain part of this working group as long as he has the technical competence. Cristiano knows that, and he is aware of this feeling."
On the row itself, Proença said: "As for the matter specifically, I would like to say that we are facing a misunderstanding that must be resolved internally."
He noted: "Today, the players demonstrated that close relationship with our current captain. Ronaldo is an integral part of our national team, he is our banner, and he was the team's captain in the first of these four matches. Recently, coach Jesus stated that he relies on Cristiano if he is in good physical condition. This applies to all players."
Proença went on: "Ronaldo is a Portuguese symbol, an exceptional player in every sense of the word. He could have ended his footballing career at the World Cup, but he did not want to, out of his great love for the national team. I am a witness to this relationship that binds Ronaldo to the Portuguese people and our national team."
He explained: "It was important to end these four matches calmly, because the sporting side was what was guiding us. We will have enough time and peace of mind for us all to sit down and resolve the misunderstanding. I repeat: Cristiano Ronaldo is part of our legacy and will always remain here if the coach wants him."
The president added: "Of course, this is not a house without rules. These dynamics happen within a working team. The federation, calmly, resolves situations internally. I repeat: fortunately, there is a very strong relationship between Ronaldo and Jesus, and I am a witness to that, because without it... let us be clear, Ronaldo might have already retired from playing with the national team. He does not do that because of this relationship and respect."
He concluded: "Everything that will happen in the coming days will be moments of calm, dialogue and discussion, and what we want is for us all to return to our national team in November."
