Cristiano Ronaldo has broken his silence over his Portugal walkout in a lengthy statement in which he declares himself available for the national team. The 41-year-old, who had raised doubts over his international future, accused Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus of broken promises when explaining his reasons for leaving the camp. Ronaldo also apologised to his team-mates and the Portuguese people over his departure from the squad and said he will accept whatever punishment is handed down to him by the Portuguese Football Federation.
Addressing the uncertainty over his Portugal future, the Al Nassr forward said in a statement shared with : "If I am physically well, playing for my club, with goals I hope, after serving the suspension that may be applied to me, I will be available, as I have always been until today, to compete and win for our national team." He added: "I have heard a great deal of talk about farewell matches, that I must have a dignified farewell and that the Federation wants to give me that opportunity. I learned in life, often hungry and with nothing to eat, that no one gives anything to anyone. "I can promise all my fans, naturally and especially all Portuguese people, that we will have one or more farewell matches; there will be time for that.
But when I think of the national team, what I really think of is competing. "That is what I thought on the day I was given the news of my father's death. I was at a camp with our national team and I decided to stay there until the end of the match the following day.
I did for the country what I would never do for any club." Ronaldo left the national team squad after he was an unused substitute for a 2-1 win away to Norway in the Nations League on September 27. Ronaldo said Jesus had agreed a plan under which the forward would miss the Norway and Denmark matches to manage his fitness. However, on the day of the Norway game, the coach told him he would play for 30 minutes.
"Everyone knows the rest. I warmed up from halftime onwards, watched the minutes tick by and wasn't called on," Ronaldo said. "The manager had broken his word to me." Ronaldo said the coach's public remarks bore no resemblance to their private discussion.
"It was the second time he had broken his word to me," Ronaldo said. "I decided to leave the training camp without waiting for any further broken promises." The statement provided Ronaldo's account but on Sunday, after Portugal's win over Norway, Jesus denied he had made any agreement with the player but left the door open for his return. Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo vowed to "tell the truth" in due course in a spat which threatened to end the international career of the Al Nassr forward, who has scored a record-breaking 146 goals in 234 appearances for Portugal.
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