Cristiano Ronaldo: Jorge Jesus and the Portuguese federation open the door to a return

Portugal are the first nation through to the Nations League quarter-finals, twelve points from twelve, and still Jorge Jesus’s press conference revolved around one man. Cristiano Ronaldo left the squad on the eve of the Denmark game and did not play a single minute in October: not in the 4-2 win in Denmark, not in the 2-1 win over Norway.

Jesus opens the door and apologises for nothing

“If he wants to and if he plays, he will be part of the next squad, as he was of this one. It is up to Cris to decide,” Jorge Jesus said after the qualifier, describing the episode as a misunderstanding he finds easy to fix. On the substance he conceded nothing: “I don’t owe an apology to anyone. The only thing I am blamed for is sending Cristiano out to warm up.” Federation president Pedro Proença struck the same tone on RTP: “We are clearly facing a misunderstanding that must be resolved internally. He will always be part of this group as long as he is technically capable of it.”

A November recall, still conditional

A Bola goes further than everyone else: according to the daily, relayed by Foot Mercato, Jorge Jesus plans to select Ronaldo for the November gathering, against Denmark on the 14th and then Wales on the 17th, and the player has reportedly been informed. RMC Sport and So Foot stay conditional, and So Foot finds it “quite unlikely” that the striker would come back to sit on the bench. At 41, Ronaldo remains Portugal’s record appearance holder and record scorer, 234 caps and 146 goals, and he has announced nothing.

The team wins, the brand worries

On the pitch the absence has cost nothing: three wins in three matches without him, first place in the group and the number 7 handed to Rafael Leão. Off it, the maths differ. “From one day to the next, the Portugal brand loses one of its assets,” says Carlos Coelho, a brand-image specialist quoted by Record, who calls it “a huge loss of value” for the federation. Google searches for “Portugal CR7” jumped 467% in twenty-four hours; shirt sales rose 185% according to JD Sports.

Ronaldo, for his part, has stoked the row his own way: he “liked” a clip from the Brazilian show SporTV in which former midfielder Felipe Melo defends him, saying that “nobody over there comes close to him” and seeing a “grotesque difference” between the way Portugal’s players treat Ronaldo and the way the Argentines treat Messi.

Portugal do not play again until the November gathering. The door is open with the coach and with the president; the decision belongs to Cris.