Cristiano Ronaldo is not retiring from international cricket and has apologised to fans for walking out of Portugal’s Nations League camp.
The 41-year-old addressed speculation over his Portugal future in a nearly 2,000-word Instagram post hours before his great rival Lionel Messi was due to bid farewell to international football in an emotional send-off in Argentina.
"If I am physically well, playing for my club, with goals I hope, after serving the suspension that may be applied to me, I will be available, as I have always been until today, to compete and win for our national team,” the Al Nassr forward said.
Portugal captain Ronaldo left the Nations League camp last week after remaining an unused substitute against Norway and being told he would not start against Denmark.
Ronaldo said the issue was not that he did not play against Norway, but that head coach Jorge Jesus had “broken his word” first by not bringing him on and then again with his “aggressiveness” when discussing the matter with the press after the game.
"To my absolute surprise, the coach asked me whether I was ready to play 30 minutes [against Norway]," Ronaldo said, recalling an earlier meeting in which they had agreed he would not feature.
"I was completely focused on my physical recovery, integrated with my teammates as always, and thinking that I would not play that day. I had no problem with that.
"This request was outside my physical recovery and training plan, because I was only supposed to play on Oct. 4 at the Dragão, but obviously I said yes. He told me to be prepared because I would play 30 minutes.
"Everyone knows what happened next. I warmed up from halftime, watched the minutes go by, and was not called upon.
"The coach had broken his word to me."
According to Ronaldo, they held another meeting, where Jesus agreed to clarify the matter at his next news conference.
Ronaldo said an eight-point document was prepared saying he had never demanded playing time, had respected Jesus' decisions and that the coach asking "someone of the stature of Pele or Maradona" to warm up without bringing him on had been a mistake.
Jesus denied that any such agreement had been made with the player in a later press conference.
The 41-year-old has scored a record 146 goals in 234 Portugal appearances and has helped them win Euro 2016 and the Nations League twice. Ronaldo in the statement also said he had considered retiring from international football after this 2026 FIFA World Cup, which Portugal exited at the last-16 stage. He said he had written a letter to fans containing the words he wanted to tell them when he announced it, but be talked out of it by the president of the Portuguese Football Federation Pedro Proença on the plane back from North America.Ronaldo said that, despite the “absolute breakdown of trust” in Jesus’ word, he should not have left the camp and said he deserves to be punished.
"The Portuguese Football Federation must assess the consequences of my actions and punish me for them. I believe the punishment should not be reduced," Ronaldo said.
He also apologised to Portugal fans and his fellow players. "I owe an apology to my national team teammates for having left the camp… I apologise to the Portuguese people once again, but a broken word has, for me, a defining impact.”
Portugal won all four of their Nations League games during the break. They will face Denmark and Wales in November, when Ronaldo could be called back up to the national team.