Cristiano Ronaldo has not trained with Portugal since being left on the bench in Sunday's 2-1 win over Norway, and local media are reporting he is unhappy with new coach Jorge Jesus. The federation president had to fly out to smooth things over in person. That's not a minor dressing room wobble — that's a full diplomatic incident.
Jesus took over from Roberto Martínez after the World Cup and has made an immediate statement: he'll manage Ronaldo, not the other way around. His reasoning ahead of the Norway game was reasonable enough — Portugal plays four matches in 11 days, and he didn't want to overload a 39-year-old across the whole stretch. Ronaldo started against Wales last Thursday and was pulled in the 67th minute. Sitting out entirely four days later was, apparently, a step too far for the player.
The federation scrambles
Pedro Proença travelling to the squad's Sweden base to personally mediate tells you everything about where the power dynamics still sit with Ronaldo in this setup. The federation confirmed Proença was with the squad but stayed tight-lipped on the details. Ronaldo, for his part, posted a Portugal kit photo on Instagram with a heart emoji — which in 2024 qualifies as a peace signal.
Jesus said right after the Norway game that he would "talk to him." Whether that conversation went well is now the central question hanging over Thursday's Nations League match against Denmark.
The stakes here go beyond one game. Ronaldo is chasing 1,000 career goals — he has 146 for Portugal alone — and any suggestion of a rift with the national team setup clouds that milestone. Portugal sit top of Nations League Group A4 with six points from two games, three clear of both Denmark and Norway. They're in a strong position. A public fallout between their coach and their all-time top scorer right now would be a gift to both opponents, and anyone backing Portugal to win the group should be watching this situation carefully before the lines settle for Sunday's home game against Norway.
Jesus built a case for careful squad management. Ronaldo responded by skipping the training pitch entirely. Someone is going to have to give ground here — and history suggests it won't be Ronaldo.
