Jorge Jesus emphasized that there was never any problem between him and Cristiano Ronaldo about him Portugal The star’s absence from their win against Norway, with the manager insisting his omission was pre-planned and the record goalscorer had not refused to train ahead of Thursday’s meeting with Denmark.
Portugal’s visit to Parken will take place amid drama following a 2-1 UEFA Nations League win at the Ulleval Stadium, in which Ronaldo was left out.
Ronaldo was replaced in the starting eleven by Goncalo Ramos and was not selected to come on as a substitute. The 41-year-old was visibly irritated and walked straight down the tunnel at the final whistle instead of joining his team-mates as they celebrated a fine win with the traveling supporters.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward subsequently did not train with the other unused substitutes in Malmö, Sweden, on Monday as Portugal prepared to face Denmark in Copenhagen.
The Al-Nassr star appeared before training on Tuesday but did not take part, with the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) explaining that Ronaldo was on a specific training program for which the Eleda Stadium did not have the proper facilities.
Jesus: Ronaldo’s omission was pre-planned
A Ball reported that Ronaldo and Jesus held open talks in an effort to resolve their differences, but speaking in his pre-match press conference, Jesus insisted there was never any problem between the two.
Jesus clarified the arrangements for Ronaldo during a long international break, saying: “Yes, it is true that I agreed with him (a plan), but I did not agree with him alone.
“We made a plan, just like I did with Bruno Fernandes.
“I told Cristiano I thought he wouldn’t play the Norway and Denmark games.”
“When we held our first press conference in Portugal, he (Cristiano) himself spoke about this issue.
“He said it depended on what the coach wanted, whether the coach wanted him to play, sit on the bench or whatever.
“So he didn’t deny anything. That’s exactly what happened. But I’m not going to sit on the bench thinking, ‘After 60 minutes I’ll do this, and after 70 minutes I’ll do that’. That’s not how I work. The game itself will tell me what to do.”
“I was thinking that maybe, despite our agreement that he wouldn’t play the first two games, maybe he would be needed in the last few minutes.
“But the party imposed other things on me, started telling me different things, and that’s why I didn’t bring it. That’s the reality.
“What happened was simply that I told Cris that I would not play the first two games, and then during the game I thought: I might need him.
“I asked him to warm up, and then I didn’t bring him.
“Any player, and I myself was a player, who warms up for 20 or 30 minutes and then does not enter the field of play will feel frustrated. Any player, let alone Cris, given his condition. Even if it was Pelé or Maradona, if they warmed up for 30 minutes and then did not come on, they would feel frustrated.”
“That’s what status means. But rights are equal for everyone.”
Dismissing reports that Ronaldo deliberately skipped training, Jesus added: “He didn’t refuse to train.
“Cristiano did some work in the gym, did some mobility exercises on the pitch and then did some extra muscle strengthening work in the hotel. That’s exactly what happened. He didn’t refuse to train.
“Today he will train, and if you come to watch the training, you will see him training, because today is the fourth day, so he will train.
“Sometimes it’s hard for me to understand certain things. Do you really think that any national team player can refuse to train? I’m not just talking about Portugal, but any national team.
“Unless he wants to leave and has another program lined up, but just refuses to train like that? No. That’s what I wanted to clear up.”
Jesus blames the media for “open air” conversations.
It had also been reported that tension between Jesus and Ronaldo led to FPF president Pedro Proenca traveling to Copenhagen for the match.
But Jesus flatly dismissed the importance of Proenca’s presence, while accusing the media of forcing him to hold talks with Ronaldo because of the extent of the coverage surrounding his omission.
“You, so to speak, forced me to talk to Cristiano about an issue that didn’t exist in the first place,” Jesus said. “Because you keep talking about this in Portugal and, honestly, I don’t understand what’s going on.
“There was nothing to discuss. And what we talked about was exactly what he said on the first day during our press conference.
“He told me: “You decide. If you want me to play, I will play. If you don’t want me to play, I won’t play. If you want me to go into the stands, I’ll go into the stands.”
“That’s exactly what happened between us.
“As for the president, it’s quite normal that he should be here. The president of the club and the president of the federation should be with the national team. And from everything that was being said in Portugal, I wanted to know what had happened, didn’t I?
“But Cristiano and I had already talked about it after dinner. And the truth is that the problem is that there was never any problem.”
