Cristiano Ronaldo misses Portugal training amid reports of rift with coach Jesus

Cristiano Ronaldo continued absence from Portugal team training has led to speculation that the 41-year-old might miss his country’s match in Denmark on Thursday due to a rift with head coach Jorge Jesus.

Ronaldo, the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football and pursuing the milestone of 1,000 career goals, was left on the bench on Sunday in Portugal’s 2-1 win at Norway in the Nations League. He has not practiced with the team since then, doing only gym work, the Portuguese Football Federation said.

Portuguese media claimed federation president Pedro Proença had to travel to meet with Ronaldo and Jesus after reports the forward was unhappy about being left out against Norway. The federation confirmed only that Proença was with the squad, where it has been preparing for the Nations League game in Copenhagen.

Ronaldo, who has 146 international goals for Portugal, posted on Instagram a photo of himself wearing the Portugal tracksuit on Tuesday, accompanied with the Portuguese flag and a heart emoji.

Jesus, who took over the squad from Roberto Martínez after the World Cup, said before the Norway game that he didn’t want to overuse Ronaldo during the unusually long international break in which Portugal play four games in 11 days.

Jesus added that he planned to give Ronaldo minutes against Norway but the circumstances of the match kept the veteran from being used. Jesus explained after the victory that he would “talk to him,” responding to reports that Ronaldo was upset.

Ronaldo started in Portugal’s 1-0 win over Wales last week and was substituted in the 67th minute.

Portugal lead Group A4 of the Nations League with six points from two matches, three points ahead of Denmark and Norway. Wales are last with no points. Portugal will host Norway on Sunday.