Ronaldo apologizes for Portugal walkout; says Jesus broke promise

Cristiano Ronaldo accuses Portugal coach Jorge Jesus of broken promises, but leaves international return open.Cristiano Ronaldo has accused Portugal ‌coach Jorge Jesus of twice breaking his word, saying a failed agreement to publicly ⁠explain his omission ⁠against Norway drove him out of the camp, but insisting he remained available after any punishment.In a lengthy statement, the 41-year-old gave his account of the dispute ⁠that prompted his departure from Copenhagen before Portugal’s Nations League match versus Denmark last week.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4FIFA chief Infantino’s ‘abuse of power’ questioned by Norway in complaintslist 2 of 4Qatar and India among seven countries bidding for 2036 Olympics, IOC sayslist 3 of 4UEFA to investigate spitting incident at Ireland-Israel football matchlist 4 of 4What happened between Ireland and Israel in their Nations League match?end of listRonaldo said Jesus had agreed a plan under which the forward would miss the Norway and Denmark ⁠matches to manage his fitness. However, on the day of the Norway game, the coach told him he would play for 30 minutes.“Everyone knows the rest. I warmed up from halftime onwards, watched the minutes tick by and wasn’t called on,” Ronaldo said.“The manager had broken his word to me.”Portugal’s ‌captain and all-time leading scorer said a subsequent meeting with Jesus, attended by his club side Al Nassr’s sporting director Simao Coutinho, produced an agreement for the coach to clarify events at his next news conference.According to Ronaldo, an eight-point document was prepared saying he had never demanded playing time, had respected Jesus’s decisions and that the coach asking him to warm up without bringing him on had been a mistake.Ronaldo said the agreed notes did ⁠not require Jesus to apologise to him but said the coach’s ⁠public remarks bore no resemblance to their private discussion.“It was the second time he had broken his word to me,” Ronaldo said. “I decided to leave the training camp without waiting for any further broken promises.”