Cristiano Ronaldo’s explosive fallout with Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus has attracted reactions from across the soccer world, with Brazilian legend Romario offering a strong defence of the Al-Nassr forward. The 1994 World Cup winner believes Ronaldo had every reason to leave the national team camp, although he identified one decision the Portuguese captain should have handled differently.
The dispute erupted during Portugal’s Nations League campaign after Ronaldo was left on the bench against Norway despite warming up for around 30 minutes. The 41-year-old subsequently left camp ahead of the Denmark fixture, claiming Jesus had broken his word and failed to honor agreements made before the match.
Speaking on the Charla Podcast, Romario described Ronaldo as “a very objective guy” and argued that the captain had legitimate reasons to feel disrespected. Although the Brazilian admitted he had a positive relationship with Jesus during the Portuguese coach’s time at Flamengo, he insisted that personal familiarity would not influence his judgment.
“I like Jorge Jesus. I had a relationship with him when he coached Flamengo. I met him five or six times, and he was always a great person,” Romario explained. Nevertheless, the former Barcelona and Valencia forward said Ronaldo’s account of events deserved to be taken seriously, particularly if the coach had failed to keep his promises.
Cristiano Ronaldo #7 of Portugal (WC 2026)
“Brother, when someone doesn’t keep their word, the agreement isn’t worth much. A handshake is worth more than anything,” he said, adding that Ronaldo would be justified if the events unfolded as he described them.
Why Romario believes Ronaldo felt humiliated
Ronaldo’s frustration reportedly intensified after he was overlooked against Norway despite spending approximately half an hour warming up on the sidelines. Portugal won the match 2-1, but the captain’s lack of involvement became a major talking point and contributed to the breakdown in his relationship with Jesus.
Romario argued that the forward had already suffered enough embarrassment to justify refusing to put himself in that position again. “They say he left the national team. Of course. He already went through a humiliation once. Why was he going to go through a second?” the Brazilian asked. The disagreement allegedly extended beyond team selection to a conversation about the coach’s media duties.
According to Romario, Ronaldo believed Jesus had agreed to address certain points during a press conference but failed to do so, leaving the captain feeling exposed: “They had agreed on some things for him to say in the press conference, and he said absolutely nothing. According to Ronaldo, he was arrogant and left Cristiano exposed.”
The one mistake Romario says Ronaldo made
Despite fully supporting Ronaldo’s decision to leave, Romario believes the Portuguese captain could have made his feelings clearer before walking away. He criticized Ronaldo for leaving without directly confronting Jesus and telling the coach exactly what he thought of him.
Head coach Jorge Jesus interacts with Cristiano Ronaldo of Al Nassr. (Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)
“I would have done the same. I would have just told him to f**k off first, but I would have left for sure,” the 60-year-old said during the interview. He delivered an even blunter verdict on the incident, adding: “I think that was Cristiano’s mistake: leaving without telling the guy to go to h*ll.”
Romario’s comments reflect his belief that a direct confrontation would have been preferable to leaving the dispute unresolved. He maintains that if Jesus failed to honor an agreement, the Portuguese veteran was entitled to stand up for himself rather than accept what he perceived as disrespect.
