Cristiano Ronaldo’s reaction to Portugal benching raises uncomfortable question about his future
Pedro Proença was supposed to be in the Azores watching Portugal’s under-21s face Gibraltar. Instead, the federation president changed his plans and headed for Copenhagen, where the senior team’s preparations for Denmark had become tangled up in another discussion about Cristiano Ronaldo.
Portugal won the game in which Gonçalo Ramos, the striker selected ahead of Ronaldo, scored the winning goal. So we could conclude that Jorge Jesus made a decision that worked, yet the federation president was getting involved in the aftermath.
A lot of attention for one afternoon on the bench
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Ronaldo did not play in Sunday’s 2-1 Nations League victory over Norway. At the end of the match, he headed straight down the tunnel while his teammates acknowledged their road fans. His absence from subsequent group training sessions drew further scrutiny, although the federation explained that Ronaldo’s individual program equipment was unavailable at the Malmö training facility, so he worked at the hotel.
That should not be turned into an allegation that he refused to train. The reported tension over his playing time, however, deserves examination, particularly after Ronaldo earlier said he would accept whatever Jesus asked of him, including not playing.
This past Sunday tested his promise under reasonably comfortable circumstances. Portugal won away from home, and the player who took his place in Ramos delivered.
Jesus had told Ronaldo he expected to bring him on, then changed his mind as the match developed. Ronaldo could reasonably want an explanation. According to reporting on their disagreement, the coach felt Ramos was playing well and other changes were needed to protect the result.
Of course, that is an explanation a player with Ronaldo’s experience should understand, however much he dislikes it. A manager cannot commit himself to a substitution before kickoff and then ignore the game in front of him.
Ahead of Portugal’s trip to Denmark, the build-up has centred on a ‘crisis’ meeting between Jorge Jesus & Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 41-year-old did not play a minute of Sunday’s win over Norway and did not train with his team-mates on Monday or Tuesday.
The head coach had said… pic.twitter.com/9G0Pxa1GAI
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) September 30, 2026
Ronaldo had an opportunity to leave on his own terms
I thought the World Cup should have been Ronaldo’s farewell to international football. There was already enough in that career for him to walk away with immense pride, without needing another selection, another appearance or another milestone to validate it, just like Leo Messi did.
Choosing to continue meant accepting that Portugal’s needs would sometimes leave him watching. At 41, with Jesus managing his minutes and considering other options, that was always going to happen.
The concern is how much attention even one of those decisions now consumes.
Ronaldo had started against Wales three days earlier and played 67 minutes. Jesus then gave Ramos the opportunity in Oslo. I mean, this was hardly a captain being discarded.
If that produces enough friction to involve the federation president, Portugal has a problem that another reassuring conversation may only postpone.
We have seen how easily this subject swallows everything around it. At the 2022 World Cup, Ramos replaced Ronaldo against Switzerland and scored a hat-trick in a 6-1 victory. Portugal should have been able to enjoy the emergence of a striker capable of producing that performance on the stage. Instead, Ronaldo’s position remained a consuming story, with the federation having to deny reports that he had threatened to leave the squad.
Years later, another Ramos goal has brought us back to familiar territory
There is something dispiriting about watching a player who has achieved so much reach this stage with the conversation repeatedly circling his reaction to being left out. Ronaldo has earned his place in Portugal’s history many times over. Jesus still has to decide whether he belongs in the next starting lineup.
His supporters are entitled to argue that he can contribute; I won’t dispute that, but defending him should include acknowledging when a coach has a sound reason to choose someone else. Ramos scored the winner. What more was he supposed to do to justify staying on the pitch?
Ronaldo could offer those younger players a great deal now, including the reassurance that their success has their captain’s support even when it comes at his expense. That would be a meaningful contribution to the team he has represented for so long.
The reported positive conversation between Ronaldo and Jesus offers a chance to move on before Thursday’s game against Denmark. But there will be other team sheets, other substitutions and other evenings when Portugal can win without him.
I would rather see Ronaldo leave while he can still take satisfaction in everything he has given his country. If he stays, those evenings have to become easier for everyone around him. Portugal cannot keep negotiating the same farewell one match at a time.
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