Cristiano Ronaldo‘s dramatic exit from Portugal’s training camp this week may not have been solely about his reduced role under Jorge Jesus, according to a new report suggesting a more personal grievance was also at play.
Vítor Pinto, subdirector of Portuguese sports daily Record, said publicly that Ronaldo’s frustration with the Portuguese Football Federation runs deeper than the senior team coach’s decisions, pointing instead to the situation involving his eldest son, Cristiano Ronaldo Jr.
According to Pinto, the fact that the 15-year-old was left off Portugal‘s U-17 call-up list was reportedly the final straw for Ronaldo, who did not hide his disappointment over the federation’s decision.
The claim lands in the middle of an already turbulent week for Portugal, with Ronaldo having walked out of the squad’s training base in Copenhagen just days before the trip to face Denmark, a decision reportedly tied to his reduced role under Jesus. The forward has yet to spell out his reasoning beyond saying the full story would come out in due course.
Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Cristiano Ronaldo Jr (right). (Getty Images)
Neither Ronaldo nor the Portuguese federation have directly addressed the claims regarding Cristiano Jr.’s U-17 snub, and it remains unclear how much weight, if any, that decision carried in Ronaldo’s choice to leave camp. For now, the report adds fuel to a controversy that has already cost Portugal hundreds of thousands of social media followers and left the captain’s international future in doubt.
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With Ronaldo absent for the trip to Denmark, Portugal’s remaining Nations League commitments in 2026 come on October 4 against Norway, November 14 against Denmark, and November 17 against Wales.
Jesus has said he’ll address the situation in full after Sunday’s match against Norway, telling reporters this week that he won’t “hide or run away” from the topic but wants to get through the rest of the window first.
Whether Ronaldo returns for any of the remaining matchdays is still unknown, and so is whether he’ll feature for Portugal again at all — if he doesn’t take the field in any of the three remaining matches, his last appearance for the national team would end up being the 1-0 win over Wales on matchday 1, back on September 24.
