Cristiano Ronaldo‘s exit from Portugal’s training camp ahead of the Nations League trip to Denmark has reverberated far beyond the pitch, with the national team’s own social media accounts absorbing the fallout from fans furious over his departure.
Portugal‘s official Instagram account lost more than 500,000 followers in less than 24 hours after news broke of Ronaldo leaving camp amid his reported rift with Jorge Jesus. The exodus was immediate and visible, with comments flooding the account from supporters making clear exactly who they had been following all along.
The backlash hasn’t fallen entirely on the federation or Jesus, however. A poll conducted by Portuguese outlet A Bola found that 78.2% of respondents placed the blame for the saga on Ronaldo rather than his coach, suggesting that even as his departure costs Portugal followers online, plenty of fans see the 41-year-old as the one who walked away.
For now, Ronaldo’s immediate future with the national team remains entirely unclear. It’s unknown whether he returns for Portugal’s remaining fixture in this window against Norway on October 4, or whether he waits until the November window against Denmark and Wales to make his reappearance.
There’s also no telling whether he has, in fact, played his last match for the national team altogether, leaving the federation, Jesus and fans alike to wait for the clarity the forward promised to provide in his own time.
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Bruno Fernandes set to wear the armband in Ronaldo’s absence
With Cristiano Ronaldo out of the squad entirely for the trip to Denmark, the captain’s armband will fall to Bruno Fernandes, who has already stepped into that role for Portugal during previous Ronaldo absences, including a recent friendly against Mexico previous to the 2026 World Cup.
Fernandes is back in line for a start after being rested for the Norway match to manage a knock, and leading the side out in Copenhagen would mark another step in his growing status as Jesus’ on-pitch leader.
