Jorge Jesus, who had promised to talk about the topic once these four marathon matches passed, appeared calm at the press conference and even opened the door to the national team’s all-time leading scorer.
“I do not know what is going to happen; for me everything is open. He has to decide his life before the call-up. If he is playing and wants to be with the national team, he can return whenever he wants, why not?” said the Portuguese coach, who until mid-year was Ronaldo’s coach at Al-Nassr, with which they won the Saudi Arabian league title just before the World Cup. Cristiano Ronaldo will decide what he wants to do.”
“It was a misunderstanding and, in my opinion, it is easy to resolve. As far as I am concerned, everything is fine. When will it be resolved? I do not know, we will see, this match just ended,” Jesus said seconds after the final whistle.
More thoughtful in the press conference, the coach made clear that he sees no reason to apologize: “I do not apologize to anyone. The problem that caused all of this was that the player was warming up. I blame the decision and what happened. But apologize for what? To whom? That is a lie. Apologize for what? What was the reason to apologize?”
Jorge Jesus Opens Door to Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal Return
“I want him to stay,” Jorge Jesus made clear. “He knows this will end, that it does not last forever. But I would like it to end with the national team however he wants. He will decide. That is how we spoke. In the first call-up, I told him: ‘I need you.’ Whether you play or not, I need you. And now it is the same.”
“I shared throughout the year everything Cristiano Ronaldo represents as a symbol and brand, especially for children. It does not depend on me. The problem between him and me was premature. Many people got involved and turned it into a problem when there was none at all,” he said amid insistent questions about the forward.
Jesus also assured that his wish is for the idol to end his career with the national team in a different way: “One of the things I told Cristiano Ronaldo was that he could not end his career at World Cups with the national team losing and crying. He had to end his career playing well. That is why he played the first match at Alvalade Stadium and was supposed to play here today. But given what happened, everything was different.”
The idol, present in every title Portugal has won in its history (one European Championship and two Nations Leagues), left the camp two days after not playing a single minute in the match against Norway, even though the coach had him warming up during the second half.
But what seemed to bother CR7 the most were Jorge Jesus’ statements to the press on Wednesday, when he justified his decision not to bring him on and made clear that “with the national team, I am in charge.”
The forward posted a statement on social media announcing his departure, avoiding details on the specific reasons but noting that he was leaving “after listening to the coach’s press conference.”
Since then, the former Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United player has been silent, although he fueled the controversy by “liking” statements from Brazilian Felipe Melo, who criticized Ronaldo’s national team teammates for not speaking openly in his favor.
“There is a grotesque difference in the way the Portuguese treat Cristiano Ronaldo and the way the Argentines treat Lionel Messi. I see more respect from rivals when they play against Ronaldo than from his own,” the Brazilian said. “Nobody there gets close to him, nobody comes close to his heels. You cannot let the best player in history leave like this.”
The controversy grew on Thursday after Portugal’s victory over Denmark, when Vitinha, Goncalo Ramos and Nuno Mendes praised Jesus’ work with the squad, even as the coach was the center of criticism.
Jorge Jesus Breaks Silence on Possible Cristiano Ronaldo Return to Portugal