Cristiano Ronaldo Leaves Portugal Training Camp Amid Jorge Jesus Rift Rumors, Denmark Benching

After Portugal coach Jorge Jesus announced on Wednesday that he was not planning to start Cristiano Ronaldo in Thursday's Nations League match against Denmark, the star striker has taken matters into his own hands.

Ronaldo released a statement on Wednesday announcing that he has left Portugal's national team training camp.

"In due time, I will tell all Portuguese people the truth about the reasons that led to my departure from the national team, to which I have always dedicated myself," Ronaldo stated. "Now is the time to wish good luck to Portugal and to all my teammates."

It was initially reported that Ronaldo skipped Wednesday's training session and had not practiced with the team since he was left on the bench in Portugal's 2-1 win over Norway on Sunday. He had started in Portugal's 1-0 win over Wales last week but was substituted in the 67th minute. On Tuesday, the 41-year-old posted an Instagram photo wearing the Portugal tracksuit and captioned it with the Portuguese flag and a heart emoji.

Jesus took over as Portugal's coach after Roberto Martínez resigned following a loss in the Round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup. He had worked with Ronaldo for nearly a year in the Saudi Pro League, and he downplayed any speculation that Sunday's benching caused a rift between the two of them.

"It seems like there was an issue between us, but there was no issue," Jesus said at Wednesday's pregame news conference. "I'm the one who makes the decisions and everybody knows that."

Jesus went on to reveal that he had told Ronaldo beforehand that he would likely play against Norway, but he ultimately changed his mind over the course of the match. He acknowledged that it was a mistake to send Ronaldo to warm up for as long as he did and then not use him, because any player would be "upset" over that. However, he didn't apologize to Ronaldo.

"I can promise whatever I want, I'm the coach," Jesus said. "No player will ever make a decision for me."

Ronaldo is the all-time leading scorer in men's international soccer with 146 goals and is pursuing the 1,000-goal career milestone, currently sitting at 979. It sounds like it will take some time to repair his relationship with the Portugal national team before he returns to the pitch.