Cristiano Ronaldo will no longer play for the Portugal national team. This was preceded by a conflict with the national team coach

Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is ending his career with the Portuguese national team and will no longer play for it.

He reported this on his Instagram page.

"The day has come when I return the number 7 shirt of our national team. I never thought it belonged to me alone. But for 23 years I have had the privilege and responsibility to wear it, protect it and take it with me to stadiums around the world. Today is the time to pass it on to the future," his video message reads.

Ronaldo has played 234 times for Portugal and scored 146 goals. He is the all-time record holder for the most caps and goals scored for the national team among men.

What preceded

Ronaldoʼs career ended amid a conflict with Portugalʼs head coach Jorge Jesus during the Nations League matches. First, in the match against Wales, Ronaldo did not show an effective game.

He spent the next game against Norway on the bench, although, according to him, the coach promised to let him on the field. The media wrote that after that the footballer did not train with the team, but worked out separately in the gym.

The situation escalated on 30 September, the day before the match against Denmark. Coach Jorge Jesus told reporters that Ronaldo would not be in the starting line-up again. Ronaldo then left the teamʼs base in Denmark, for which the Portuguese Football Federation later fined him and banned him from playing for the national team for 30 days.

Ronaldo himself accused the coach of violating the agreements. According to him, they had previously agreed on his role in the team for the September matches. He was supposed to miss some of the games, in particular with Norway and Denmark, in order to better monitor his physical condition. However, on the day of the match with Norway, Jesus reported that he would still release him for about 30 minutes.

"Everyone knows the rest. I was warming up after halftime, watching the minutes pass, and I wasnʼt called onto the field. The manager broke his promise," the football player said.

In all three games where Ronaldo was either a substitute or absent, Portugal won. His replacement Gonzalo Ramos scored three goals in those matches.

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