“I can promise whatever I want, I’m the coach," Portugal manager Jorge Jesus said defiantly at yet another press conference dominated by questions about Cristiano Ronaldo. “No player will ever make a decision for me.”
Ronaldo, 41, was left on the bench for Portugal’s 2–1 Nations League win over Norway on Sunday, causing a predictable furore. Or, as Portuguese media called the fallout “an earthquake.”
Jesus was peppered with questions about why the five-time Ballon d’Or winner didn’t get on the field in an international fixture for which he was available for the first time since 2008, and whether he might in the upcoming clash with Denmark.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the game. If we need him to play, he’ll play. If not, he won’t,” the Portugal manager reiterated. “The rules are the same for everyone.”
Such commitment to equality was simply too much to bear for Ronaldo, who immediately withdrew himself from the national team camp and put out a statement on Instagram, cryptically promising to “tell all Portuguese people the truth” in due course.
Reports suggest he has already played his last game for Portugal.
Ronaldo Circus Remains Unwanted Distraction
The “truth” when it does come out (presumably in an interview with Piers Morgan) is unlikely to be the one everyone else sees: Portugal need to move on from Ronaldo.
It is now closing in on four years since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar when Fernando Santos dared to bench a then 37-year-old Ronaldo ahead of the round-of-16 clash with Switzerland.
Gonçalo Ramos started instead and scored a hat trick in a 6–1 win—easily Portugal’s best tournament performance since their Euro 2016 triumph.
That World Cup felt like a watershed moment; a passing of the torch. Ronaldo, who scored a single goal at that tournament from the penalty spot, was now undeniably a waning force. His powers, like all mortals, gradually on the decline with age.
He could’ve retired then as one of the greatest in history, or even accepted a new role as a bit-parter and locker-room leader. As you well know, he did not do those things.
Ronaldo at the Last Four Major Tournaments
| Tournament | Age | Goals | Assists | Portugal Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 36 | 5 | 1 | Round of 16 |
| 2022 | 37 | 1 | 0 | Quarterfinals |
| 2024 | 39 | 0 | 1 | Quarterfinals |
| 2026 | 41 | 3 | 0 | Round of 16 |
Instead, we have been subjected to four more years of The Ronaldo Show as Instagram’s most followed man rages against the dying of the light like a Silicon Valley billionaire in pursuit of eternal life, flexing his abs and refusing to let go.
Santos left in 2022 and Ronaldo’s level of celebrity has meant that no-one in a position of power has been able to say no to him since and, as a result, we’ve been treated to cringeworthy sights like the forward triumphantly shouting “I’m back” down the camera lens after scoring against Uzbekistan.
Of course, there have been moments in the latter years. Ronaldo has still broken records and even lifted a Nations League title. But it feels like none of it has been in service of the team—only an unrelenting vanity project.
The manager is right that equality and meritocracy must prevail, and the reality is that Ronaldo, regardless of who he is and what he was, no longer merits a place in Portugal’s best XI.
Portugal’s New Identity
Jesus’s reasoning for not putting Ronaldo on against Norway was sound.
Ronaldo was ineffective in 67 minutes against Wales days earlier, failing to score from a match-high seven shots.
Portugal led 2–1 in the second half away at Norway—one of the eight best teams at the last World Cup—and needed to keep things tight. It should be clear to most that a knife-edge game in which the visitors had just 38% possession would not have benefited from the addition of a player in his fifth decade who has not pressed effectively since before the advent of generative AI.
The obsession with Ronaldo also overlooks the form of Ramos, who will never be a five-time Ballon d’Or winner or a sport-transcending household name, but is Portugal’s best striker at the moment. The AC Milan forward scored what ended up being the winner and is developing a fine understanding with the in-form João Félix, who has come alive in this international break.
Portugal’s World Cup was disappointing, but the raw ingredients are there for Jesus at the start of a new era.
Bruno Fernandes, João Neves and Vitinha is as good as a midfield three as you are likely to find in world soccer, while there is elite-level quality peppered throughout the roster from Rúben Dias to Nuno Mendes, Diogo Costa and Bernardo Silva.
Despite the earthquake, Portugal will survive post-Ronaldo. It needs to. The press conferences need new questions, the fans need new heroes and the team needs new focal points.
Jesus’s actions may have forced the big uncomfortable break, but it was long overdue.
