Not a drop of doubt! Jorge Jesus speaks out after Ronaldo's shocking walkout
The loudest scandal of this international break has finally received a response from the man at the heart of it. Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus has broken his silence on Cristiano Ronaldo's dramatic departure from the national team camp.
Details: Speaking to SportTV on Thursday, ahead of Portugal's Nations League clash with Denmark in Copenhagen, Jorge Jesus made it clear he feels zero guilt over the saga: “I'm completely relaxed, completely clear in my conscience with this situation”. The 72 year old coach added that all questions will be answered later: “After the game on Sunday we can talk about everything”. On Sunday, October 4, Portugal host Norway in the fourth round of the Nations League group stage.
The words of Jesus come less than 24 hours after the most turbulent evening of his short tenure. Ronaldo, left on the bench for the entire 2:1 win over Norway in Oslo, packed his bags on Wednesday night, shortly after the coach publicly confirmed the 41 year old captain would not start against Denmark either. The five time Ballon d'Or winner released an official statement announcing he had left the camp following a conversation with federation president Pedro Proença, promising to tell the Portuguese people the truth in due course. According to Marca, Jesus and Proença even chased Ronaldo to Copenhagen airport in a last ditch attempt to change his mind, but the legend boarded the plane. Meanwhile, the story keeps moving: Rafael Leão has already been assigned the iconic number 7 shirt on the UEFA website, a symbolic gesture after nearly two decades of the CR7 era. Despite the noise, Jesus has a perfect record to protect: two wins from two in the group, with Denmark away and Norway at home still to come this week.
It's worth noting that Ronaldo remains the all time leading scorer and appearance maker in men's international football, with 146 goals in 234 caps for Portugal. Jesus knows him better than most: the pair won the Saudi Pro League title together at Al Nassr just last season.
Reminder: Portugal issues official statement over Ronaldo walkout
Miguel Solomons
Dailysports's expert
