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Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo can return to the national team if he wishes, despite his recent departure from the squad, head coach Jorge Jesus said on Sunday.
Jesus said the veteran forward would be welcomed back “if he wants to” after Portugal secured a place in the Nations League quarter-finals with a victory over Norway without Ronaldo.
The dispute began last week when Jesus left 41-year-old Ronaldo on the bench for Portugal’s first win over Norway. Ronaldo subsequently walked out on the squad on Wednesday after learning he would not start against Denmark.
“For me, Cris, in the next call-up, if he’s playing at Al-Nassr, he’ll be a player who can be called up,” Jesus told reporters, referring to Ronaldo’s Saudi club side. “If he wants to, he’ll return to the national team.”
The coach said if Ronaldo wishes to speak to him before Portugal’s next matches in November, that would happen.
“If he wants to, as we did before this call-up, we talked before the call-up, we can talk before the next call-up,” continued Jesus. “But Cris is the one who’s going to decide.”
Former Real Madrid and Manchester United attacker Ronaldo is Portugal’s all-time leading scorer and most-capped player.
Jesus said he had told Ronaldo he needed him in the squad for his first games at the helm after replacing Roberto Martinez following the 2026 World Cup.
“Cristiano should end his time in the national team the way he wants, he’s the one who will decide how he wants it,” said Jesus.
“That’s how we talked, the two of us — I said, ‘I need you’. In my first call-up, I said, ‘I need you, I need you to be close to me, playing or not playing, I need you’. And now I’m saying the same thing.”
Ronaldo, who made his Portugal debut in 2003 at the age of 18, has said this will “probably” be his final year in football.
The forward has been a fixture of the national team for more than two decades and has played at six World Cups.
In Ronaldo’s absence Portugal became the first team to secure a place in the quarter-finals, with two group games still to play.
Ronaldo’s long-time rival for the title of the world’s best player, Lionel Messi, will play his final match for Argentina in a friendly against Benin in Buenos Aires on Tuesday.
