"I Call Up Whoever I Want": Portugal Coach's Angry Rant Over Cristiano Ronaldo Row

Cristiano Ronaldo seems to have played his final game for Portugal, though an official update on the topic is yet to arrive from the football icon. After leaving the national team camp midway through, following a clash with coach Jorge Jesus, Ronaldo promised to reveal the 'truth' behind what happened. As fans and the entire world of social media await an update from the Portuguese star, the national team coach had a bit of an altercation with a reporter during a press conference when asked about the situation surrounding the country's most iconic player.

Jesus himself had said that he would share details of the Ronaldo episode after the match against Norway. When asked in the press conference if he intended to apologise to Ronaldo over the issue, Jesus lost his cool.

"Apologise for what? And what reason would drive me to apologise?" he said, before clarifying: "The main reason for all this is the player's warm-up. I take responsibility for the decision and what happened, but apologise for what? And to whom? This is ridiculous."

"Now, this has nothing to do with... I'm the coach; I call up whoever I want. I don't ask anyone who I want to call up or who will play. As a coach, there are several non-negotiable moments, and therefore, I can't be clearer than this."

The coach then claimed that the entire episode had been blown out of proportion, while also leaving the door open for Ronaldo to make a comeback.

"In my opinion, you can't hold a one-year friendship against someone over a situation that is difficult to understand," Jesus said.

"Just because it was him. Just because it was him, and perhaps rightly so, because he is a symbol, this whole issue of warming up and not warming up, coming on and not coming on, has been created."

O CLIMA ESQUENTOU NA COLETIVA DE PORTUGAL! Jorge Jesus discutiu com um jornalista, que cobrava explicacoes sobre toda a polemica envolvendo Cristiano Ronaldo. O treinador da selecao disse que "nao pede desculpas a ninguém"... #MFM #NationsLeague https://t.co/XExgnQXkuj

— TNT Sports BR (@TNTSportsBR) October 4, 2026

"How many players warmed up today and didn't come on? How many? Is there going to be a problem with any of them? No," he said, embarking on an angry rant while also asserting that the 41-year-old Ronaldo can still earn a call-up to the national team.

Following Ronaldo's departure, Portugal and Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes stated that Ronaldo deserves to say goodbye in style. When Jesus was asked if he agreed with Fernandes' remarks, he said: "One hundred per cent. I completely agree with what Bruno Fernandes said, because that was also my idea."

He added: "We're talking about several things. One of the things I told Cris was that he couldn't end up losing and crying at the World Cup. He had to finish playing for the national team, and that's why he played the first game. It happened to be at Alvalade. He was supposed to play here today, but, given what happened, everything was different. That practically says it all."

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