Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus breaks silence on Cristiano Ronaldo situation

Ronaldo left the Portugal camp on Wednesday after missing two training sessions.

Jorge Jesus says he will "not hide or run away" from the subject of Cristiano Ronaldo's decision to walk out of Portugal's international training camp.

Ronaldo claimed on Wednesday (September 30) that he will tell "the truth" about his decision to leave the Portugal camp after reports of a rift with Jesus emerged following his lack of game time against Norway.

The 41-year-old forward, who is the country's all-time top scorer with 146 goals in 243 games, was involved in a meeting on Wednesday with Jesus and FPF president Pedro Proenca to clear the air.

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A short time later, Jesus played down reports of a rift, but after missing two training sessions, Ronaldo then proceeded to announce his departure from the squad.

"Following the national team manager's press conference, and after a conversation with the President of the Portuguese Football Federation, I decided to leave the national team's training camp," he wrote in a statement.

"In due course, I will tell the Portuguese people the truth about the reasons behind my departure from the national team, to which I have always been dedicated. Now is the time to wish good luck to Portugal and to all my teammates, without exception."

Just minutes before Portugal's clash against Denmark on Thursday night, Jesus was asked to comment on Ronaldo's decision to leave camp.

He replied: “I will explain everything after the last game. I have many years in football and I know that I did nothing that should have caused things to go differently. After the Norway game, we will talk about this subject. I will not hide or run away from it."

Jesus added: “Nobody can take away what Cristiano represents. He’s an icon and that’s not in question."

It is said the disagreement between Jesus and Ronaldo began in the match against Norway, when the latter was sent to warm up for about 30 minutes in the second half but was not brought on.

As mentioned above, an emergency meeting was then held involving Ronaldo, Proenca and Jesus, who was said to be apologetic after the incident and promised to admit the mistake in a public setting.

However, Jesus went on to send a clear message in his press conference that no player is bigger than the team.

"I can promise whatever I want. I am the manager. I am the coach, and I told the player he was not going to play. I'll put him on the bench; if I need you for 30 minutes, you'll play, and if not, you won't," he said.

"No player will ever change my mind. Not him, not anyone in football. Not any president either. Never, zero."

Jesus' actions appear to have caused upset. El Chiringuito's Edu Aguirre has claimed that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner feels "betrayed" by what has happened.

In fact, Ronaldo reportedly believes the comments were made in an attempt by Jesus to assert his authority and show that he remains in control.

Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal, UEFA Nations League

Jack Kenmare is a Senior Journalist at SPORTbible, covering a range of different sports, including football, darts and athletics. In his role at SPORTbible, Jack specialises in long-form feature writing, with some of his previous interviews featuring some of the biggest and most relevant names in sport. He graduated with a BA Hons (2:1) in Journalism and News Practice from Teesside University. He joined SPORTbible in 2015 to cover news and trending stories.

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