Portugal boss denies ‘rift’ with Ronaldo

Portugal forward, Cristiano Ronaldo

Photo : Fabrizio Romano

Portugal coach Jorge Jesus insisted on Wednesday that there was no rift between him and Cristiano Ronaldo, but the 72-year-old did acknowledge that his captain had been disappointed to remain on the bench in the side’s Nations League win over Norway.

“There was no incident whatsoever,” Jesus told his press conference ahead of Thursday’s Nations League match against Denmark in Copenhagen.

Following Portugal’s 2-1 victory over Norway on Sunday in Oslo, Ronaldo went straight to the changing rooms without joining his team-mates in going over to greet the Portuguese supporters in the stands.

“Any player –- and I was a player myself… when you spend 20 or 30 minutes warming up and then don’t get on… no one is happy about that,” Jesus said on Wednesday.

The Portuguese coach added that he had told Ronaldo before the match that he would not be in the starting line-up, but that he might bring him on towards the end of the game.
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“Afterwards, as coach, I decided not to bring him on. It’s nothing to make a fuss about,” Jesus insisted.

The former Benfica boss also explained that Ronaldo had not refused to train on Tuesday, as some Portuguese media outlets had suggested, but that he had had to do individual exercises for physical “mobility” and “strengthening”.

Jesus also revealed that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner would train as normal on Thursday, but that for the Denmark match he intended to start AC Milan striker Goncalo Ramos, who scored the winner against the Norwegians.

“If everything goes according to plan, it will be Goncalo who plays,” he said, before adding regarding Ronaldo: “If I need him, he’ll come on. If I don’t need him, he won’t.”

At 41, Ronaldo announced this summer that this season would “probably (be) my last year in football”.

He is Portugal’s leading goalscorer and most capped player, with 146 goals in 234 appearances.

AFP

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