Ronaldo has walked out of Portugal’s camp in Copenhagen, and Jorge Jesus says no player will change his mind
The 41-year-old left after his coach said he would not start against Denmark, and has promised to explain why in due course.
Oct 1, 2026
Cristiano Ronaldo will not be at Parken Stadium when Portugal play Denmark on Thursday night. The 41-year-old left the national team’s training camp in Copenhagen on Wednesday, after Jorge Jesus told a press conference that Ronaldo would not start the Nations League game, and the Portuguese Football Federation confirmed he had gone.
Ronaldo announced it himself on Instagram. “After the press conference of the national team, and following a conversation with the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, I have made the decision to leave the national team training camp,” he wrote, adding that in due course he would tell the Portuguese people the truth about why.
How Oslo turned into this
The trouble started in Oslo on Sunday, 27 September. Ronaldo had started Portugal’s 1-0 win over Wales in the group opener, but Jesus left him on the bench against Norway, picked João Félix and Gonçalo Ramos, and never brought him on. Portugal won 2-1. Ronaldo had warmed up for a long spell, and at the end he did not join his team-mates in front of the travelling fans at the end.
Jesus spent most of Wednesday’s press conference trying to play it down. He said there had been “no incident whatsoever”, accepted that no player is happy after warming up for 20 or 30 minutes and not getting on, and admitted that he should have sent Ronaldo to warm up later than he did. On the Denmark game, he was blunter: “If we need to play, he’ll play. If not, he won’t.” He also said that no player would change his mind.
That is not a small thing to say about a captain with 146 goals in 234 games for his country, and it is stranger still coming from Jesus, who coached Ronaldo at Al Nassr. A meeting with federation president Pedro Proença in Copenhagen did not fix it. My read is that Ronaldo’s statement sounds like a man getting ready to explain an exit rather than one planning to come back for the next squad, though he has not said he is retiring and nobody should write that for him yet.
The game still has to be played
Portugal top Group 4 of League A with six points from two games. Denmark have three after losing 3-2 to Norway in their opener and beating Wales 2-0 on Sunday, when a Ben Davies own goal and a deflected Gustav Isaksen finish did it.
Brian Riemer is without Patrick Dorgu, who hurt his hamstring against Wales and has gone back to Manchester United, so Mohamed Daramy could come in. Portugal are expected to have Bruno Fernandes back in midfield, while Francisco Conceição is out after being injured in Oslo. Ramos, who scored the winner against Norway, should lead the line again.
These two met in the Nations League quarter-finals in March 2025. Rasmus Højlund’s goal won the first leg 1-0 in Copenhagen, and Portugal won the return 5-2 after extra time in Lisbon to go through.
Kick-off is 8:45pm in Copenhagen, which is 12:15am IST on Friday. Portugal have the points to absorb a bad night in Copenhagen. The bigger question is what Ronaldo says when he does explain himself.