For 23 years, Cristiano Ronaldo and the Portugal No.7 shirt were inseparable, through European glory, Nations League triumphs and countless nights carrying a nation’s hopes. On Thursday, that chapter came to an end when the 41-year-old announced his retirement from international football.
Now, Jorge Jesus, the man who leads the national team from the bench, has finally spoken. The coach had been at the center of a tense relationship with his captain in recent weeks, but his reaction to the news was a respectful one, admitting that he tried to convince Ronaldo to stay.
Speaking to Canal 11, Jesus did not hide how much Ronaldo means to the country. “Cristiano is a global icon, an example for Portugal and the national team. I had a huge photo of him put up in our auditorium so that all the young players could look up to him every single day,” the coach explained.
Jesus revealed that the two had already talked before the first squad announcement, and that he did try to change his captain’s mind. “I asked him to continue with me because I needed him by my side, but I have to accept his decision,” he said. Even so, he made sure to add that Ronaldo “will always be in the hearts of the Portuguese people”.
A farewell that follows a fallout
The cracks in the relationship between Ronaldo and Jesus appeared during the last international break, in the UEFA Nations League. In the second match of the window, against Norway, the captain spent the entire second half warming up on the touchline, waiting for a signal from the bench that never arrived.
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Jesus kept him out of the game, and when the final whistle blew, Ronaldo left the national team camp, a decision that sent shockwaves through the squad and left his coach under pressure.
The reason, Ronaldo later explained, was a matter of trust: he felt Jesus had not kept his word. Yet the forward did not hide behind that grievance, acknowledging that walking out was not the right way to react and made it clear he was willing to face whatever punishment came his way.
The punishment arrived as a 30-day suspension, but the distance between player and coach never really closed. It lasted until Nov. 5, when Ronaldo broke the news of his retirement with a short farewell: “Portugal will always be in me”.
At 41 years old, the legendary forward leaves as the country’s all-time leader in appearances and goals, and as the top scorer in the history of international football, with 146 goals in 243 caps. Now, with the most decorated figure in Portuguese football gone, Jesus faces the task of rebuilding the squad for the next international window without the player who defined the national team for more than two decades.
