October 7: Good news for anyone worried that Cristiano Ronaldo’s international career ended in a toys-out-of-the-pram moment can breathe easy. The coach of Portugal, Jorge Jesus, has made it clear that the door is open and the one who holds the key is, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo walked off the field after sitting on the bench for 90 minutes of Portugal’s 2-1 win in Norway on September 27. He promised to “tell the truth” about why. The nation is still waiting.
Portugal, for its part, got into it. They beat Denmark 4-2 in Copenhagen and then Norway 2-1 at home on Sunday to top their Nations League group with 12 points from 12. Not the ideal backdrop for a man who argues the team needs him.
Jesus, who only a week ago announced that “no player will ever make a decision for me”, has had a slight change in tone.
“If he wants, he will return to the national team,” Jesus said. “We can talk before the next call, but Cris will decide.”
“In my first call, I said: “I need you, I need you to be near me, playing or not playing, I need you”. And now I say the same”, added Jesus.
The president of the Federation, Pedro Proença, went further, calling Ronaldo “the best player of all time” and calling the whole episode “a misunderstanding that must be resolved internally”.
“He will always be part of this team if he is technically fit to play. Cristiano knows that,” said Proença.
The 41-year-old Al Nassr striker has 146 goals in 234 games for Portugal, an international men’s record. He started the opening win against Wales before being left out in Oslo, which is where the problems started.
Portugal have won three in a row without him.
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