Portugal boss Jorge Jesus insists he does not ‘feel guilty’ about Cristiano Ronaldo‘s international retirement and had no idea it was coming.
Ronaldo’s explosive row with Jesus that escalated after he was left on the bench for a Nations League game and climaxed with the 41-year-old publishing a long statement hammering his manager, left their relationship in tatters.
And on Thursday, weeks after the dispute, Ronaldo announced his retirement from Portugal duty, bringing a sad end to his career on the international stage.
Jesus has now spoken for the first time about it, saying at a press conference: ‘I don’t feel guilty about anything regarding his departure. I respect his decision and, as such, his history cannot be ignored.
‘I will never do that. Because he will always be a symbol, and I have built a strong friendship with him over this year and a half. Sporting-wise, he has now made another decision, and I greatly respect his decision.’
When asked if he thought he was the reason for Ronaldo’s retirement, the 72-year-old added: ‘No… Maybe I rushed things, but not because of me. It was in his head that, with more or less call-ups, this was going to happen. It was always going to be during my tenure.
Jorge Jesus, pictured at a press conference on Friday, said he did not feel guilty about Cristiano Ronaldo’s international retirement
‘I didn’t speak to Ronaldo because I was thinking about calling him up. From that moment on, I was going to have time to talk to him.’
And Jesus insisted he had no idea why Ronaldo chose now to quit, adding: ‘You have to ask him… The absolute certainty I have is that Cris worked with me for a year. We were happy at the club where we were, we were champions. I respect his decision at this moment.
‘He would always have been with me throughout all these years that we were going to work together. He was the one who would decide. I don’t know why he made that decision. What I do know is that he knew his time was coming, he was the one who would choose. And he chose. Only he can answer that better than I can.’
Ronaldo scored a world record 146 goals in 234 games for Portugal and won the 2016 European Championship as well as two Nations League titles.
But he will not add to those achievements now – instead stepping away after 23 years playing for his country.
In his retirement statement, he admitted that he had at times ‘failed’ and revealed that his decision was difficult, but felt proud of his work and willing to hand over the number seven jersey.
His final minutes in a Portugal shirt came against Wales in September, when he played 67 minutes in a 1-0 Nations League win over Wales.
After being left on the bench for their subsequent match against Norway, Ronaldo had a row with manager Jesus and flew away from Portugal’s camp via his private jet.
Ronaldo never reached a World Cup final and cried after Portugal were knocked out by Spain in the last 16 over the summer
Marking his retirement, he wrote: ‘To the people of Portugal, the day has come to return the number 7 jersey of our national team. I never felt it was exclusively mine. But for 23 years, I had the privilege and the responsibility to wear it, to defend it, and to take it with me to stadiums all over the world.
‘Today has come the moment to hand it over to the future. It was not an easy decision, because some decisions are not made just with the head, they are also made with the heart.
‘I was always demanding of myself. I always wanted more, I always believed we could go further. And I gave everything I had for this jersey. There were perfect afternoons and nights, there were victories I will never forget.
‘There were defeats that even today I find hard to remember. I also failed, I also suffered, there were also moments when I was not able to give the Portuguese people what they so desired. But I never gave up. And above all, I never stopped feeling proud to represent Portugal.
‘Throughout these years, I learned very simple things. Goals pass, trophies stay in museums, records end up being broken. But there is something that time can never erase: the place we occupy in people’s hearts.
‘If I ever made you happy, if ever a goal of mine made you hug someone, forget a problem, or simply feel proud of our country, then it was all worth it. Because being Portuguese is also that. We suffer together, we get up together.
‘If I got this far, it was because we were always hand in hand. And to the Portuguese, to all Portuguese people scattered around the world, I want to tell you one last thing. There is an image I will always carry with me: the moment the national anthem begins. I look around, I see my teammates, I see the stands, I see children, mothers, fathers, and grandfathers, I see Portuguese people who came from so far just to be there.
‘And during those minutes, we stop being different. There are no clubs, there are no colors, there are no classes, there are no professions, there are no opinions. There is only one passion: Portugal.’
There will be questions over the way Ronaldo’s international career has ended – to the public, it appears to be on rather bitter terms.
Ronaldo was livid after being left on the bench despite warming-up for Portugal’s Nations League win over Norway on September 27 – the first time he has been an unused substitute during his 23-year international career.
The highlight of his Portugal career was lifting the 2016 European Championship, even if he got injured in the final
That led to him skipping three training sessions and abandoning the camp for Portugal’s last two matches of the international break, fleeing to Spain via private jet.
He did not even watch their next match against Norway because he was soaring away on his plane with his family.
The former Manchester United star was vexed at how Jesus had handled his press conference after leaving him on the bench.
Ronaldo insisted that Jesus had broken a promise to apologise to the ‘Portuguese people’ and his team-mates for not bringing him on.
He claimed he had been guaranteed 30 minutes of football against Norway after the Portuguese FA persuaded him not to retire following the World Cup.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner even offered to retire if that was what the coach and head of Portuguese FA wanted, only for them to reiterate their desire to have him.
But most hurtfully, Ronaldo released a stinging 1,996-word statement accusing Jesus of ‘broken promises’. He said the manager had agreed to deliver an eight-point mea culpa taking responsibility for leaving him on the bench after a supposed pact to play him.
Jesus did concede it was a mistake to make him warm up but gave a different narrative of events, saying: ‘The match in Norway was not part of the plan I drew up for him. However, I felt that he had managed to recover physically from the first match and I warned him that I might have to use him. Cristiano agreed.’
In the end, Ronaldo was fined £215 by the Portuguese FA and technically banned for a month – though that was backdated, making him free for their upcoming fixtures. But fans – and the man himself – will now have to embrace the next chapter as Portugal aim to move on without the most illustrious player in their history.
