Why did Ronaldo leave Portugal’s training camp, and will he play again?

Cristiano Ronaldo’s abrupt departure from Portugal’s training camp ahead of their fixture against hosts Denmark has prompted a string of questions and a few answers.

The global superstar’s exit on Wednesday was preceded by an explosive revelation by head coach Jorge Jesus, who said Ronaldo would not be picked for Portugal’s Nations League match against Denmark.

The UEFA Nations League title holders will now take to the field in Copenhagen, Denmark, without their talismanic captain on matchday three of the competition.

Here’s everything we know so far:

What happened between Ronaldo and Portugal coach Jesus? 

Ronaldo left Portugal’s training camp after a dispute with Jesus on the eve of their Nations League match against Denmark. The 41-year-old captain had been due to train with his teammates at the Parken stadium in Copenhagen on Wednesday but left abruptly after Jesus’s news conference.

Jesus had said that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner would train as normal. However, despite arriving at the stadium in the team bus, Ronaldo did not join his teammates on the pitch.

Portuguese media shared a video of him leaving Parken alongside two members of the backroom staff just after Jesus’s news conference. They also said that Ronaldo’s private jet was heading to Copenhagen. Spanish sports media ⁠⁠⁠⁠outlet Marca reported that Ronaldo intended to board a private flight to Madrid in the coming hours.

The Portuguese Football ⁠⁠⁠⁠Federation (FPF) confirmed Ronaldo had left the camp but said preparations for the match against Denmark and Sunday’s home game against Norway would continue as planned with the remaining 24 players.

The Portugal squad later arrived at their ‌‌‌‌hotel without Ronaldo and without Jesus, with the whereabouts ‌‌‌‌of ‌‌‌‌both still unknown.

Why was there a dispute?

The veteran coach had said that Ronaldo, who spent the entire match on the bench against Norway on Sunday, would not start Thursday’s Nations League clash away to Denmark, either.

Jesus had insisted earlier that there was no rift between him and Ronaldo, although the 72-year-old did acknowledge that his captain had been disappointed to remain on the bench in the side’s Nations League win over Norway.

What did Ronaldo say?

Ronaldo reacted on social media soon after his departure from the camp.

“Following the national team manager’s press conference, and after a conversation with the President of the Portuguese Football Federation, I ⁠⁠⁠⁠have decided to leave ⁠⁠⁠⁠the national team’s training camp,” he wrote on Instagram.

“In due course, I will tell the truth to all the Portuguese people about my reasons for leaving the national team, to which I have always been dedicated.”

“Now is the time to wish good luck to Portugal and to all my team-mates, without exception.”

What did Jesus say?

Jesus initially denied that Ronaldo had left the camp before the FPF and Ronaldo confirmed otherwise.

He also addressed Ronaldo’s decision to head straight to the changing rooms instead of celebrating with the team after their 2-1 victory over Norway.

“There was no incident whatsoever,” Jesus told reporters. “Any player — and I was a player myself… when you spend 20 or 30 minutes warming up and then don’t get on … no one is happy about that,” Jesus said on Wednesday.

The Portuguese coach added that he had told Ronaldo before the match that he would not be in the starting lineup, but that he might bring him on towards the end of the game.

“Afterwards, as coach, I decided not to bring him on. It’s nothing to make a fuss about,” Jesus insisted.

The former Benfica boss also explained that Ronaldo had not refused to train on Tuesday, as some Portuguese media outlets had suggested, but that he had had to do individual exercises for physical “mobility” and “strengthening”.

Has Ronaldo ever left a camp like this before?

No. This is the first time Ronaldo has stormed out of a training camp in his 23 years of playing for Portugal.

Which other famous players have left their national teams or been sent home?

Ronaldo’s departure was relatively subdued compared with the infamous Saipan incident in 2002 involving Roy Keane, captain of the Republic of Ireland, and manager Mick McCarthy ahead of the World Cup in Japan and South Korea.

Keane was vociferous about unsatisfactory training conditions in Saipan, for which McCarthy demanded an apology at a team meeting days later.

Keane reportedly lambasted him with the saying: “I didn’t rate you as a player, I don’t rate you as a manager, and I don’t rate you as a person”, before storming off the pitch. He never played at the World Cup and said he would not play again for Ireland under McCarthy.

Eight years later, at the FIFA World Cup 2010, France forward Nicolas Anelka was expelled from the national team for an explosive, expletive-laden tirade against head coach Raymond Domenech during half-time in France’s group-stage match against Mexico.

The French Football Federation (FFF) sent Anelka home after he refused to apologise to Domenech. In turn, the French squad boycotted training for a day, saying the FFF “did not at any time try to protect the group.” The FFF’s managing director subsequently quit.

Has Ronaldo played his last game for Portugal?

Ronaldo fuelled speculation about his retirement plans after saying⁠⁠ in August that the upcoming ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠year will probably be the last of his playing career.

“This is probably my last year of football and I want to leave a spectacular legacy,” Ronaldo told lifestyle magazine Vogue.

The forward has scored 976 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠goals for club and country during a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠career spanning more than two decades. Ronaldo will continue playing for Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌this ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌season as he closes in on a milestone of 1,000 career goals.