Cristiano Ronaldo is a pure magnetic when it comes to making headlines. It can be both good and bad. Lately, it's been bad. He abruptly left the Portuguese camp due to an apparent set of a broken promise.
This has led up to the Portugese FA suspending the player.
Also Read: An Insult To A God Complex
The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) has provisionally suspended Cristiano Ronaldo after opening disciplinary proceedings over his decision to leave the national team camp following a dispute with coach Jorge Jesus; according to ESPN.
Ronaldo left the squad ahead of Portugal’s Nations League match against Denmark after accusing Jesus of breaking promises about his playing time. The dispute followed the coach’s decision to bench him against Norway.
The federation announced on Saturday that it had referred the case to its Disciplinary Investigation Commission and classified the proceedings as urgent.
In the three games that Ronaldo was either an unused substitute or absent; Portugal won and his replacement Gonçalo Ramos seized his chance by scoring three goals.
Ronaldo later apologised to his team-mates and supporters; acknowledged that he shouldn't have left the camp and said he would accept any punishment.
Under FPF regulations, players who leave national team activities without justification could receive suspensions ranging from one to six months; as well as fines.
Ronaldo was involved only in Portugal’s opening Nations League game, where he was replaced by Ramos in a 1-0 win over Wales. He left the squad after watching the second game from the substitutes’ bench — a 2-1 win in Norway — and Portugal showed no ill effects from his departure with wins over Denmark and Norway to book a quarter-final.
Ronaldo ended the international break with a long post to his 679 million followers on Instagram, where he asked the Portugal coach to acknowledge a mistake in asking him to warm up on the sidelines in Oslo and then not send him on the field. Jesus did not acknowledge any mistake.
The star wrote that he expected a suspension under federation rules but promised his fans "we will have one or more farewell matches."
Ronaldo could possibly face a harsh punishment for leaving the training camp. The federation’s disciplinary regulations say that any player who “abandons or fails to appear” without justification at a training session, match or activity of the national teams “shall be sanctioned with a suspension of one to six months,” in addition to a fine.
Ronaldo did tell the federation he was leaving, but it wasn’t clar whether the decision would be considered justified in accordance with the regulations.
"I have already apologized, but I know that actions must have consequences," Ronaldo wrote in his statement. "Anyone in football as I am knows that, regardless of each person’s status, the rules are the same for everyone."
Writing in "A Bola," journalist, Nelson Viteirona, questioned the limits of the exceptional status Ronaldo enjoys; stressing that his sporting achievements and his economic and media value should not override collective principles.
He pointed out that the Portuguese star may receive preferential treatment, even with regard to disciplinary sanctions but he warned that his return can't happen as if nothing had occurred; given the questions about the nature of his relationship with Jorge Jesus and the position of his teammates inside the dressing room.
Goncalo Almeida, a lawyer and judge at FIFA's Court of Arbitration for Sport, criticised the transformation of Ronaldo's departure from the national team camp into a national crisis, after official statements, social media posts and conflicting accounts escalated.
Almeida felt that these developments had harmed all parties, including the Portugal national team and the country's image, calling for the dispute to be settled away from the spotlight in order to preserve the national team's stability and interests, according to the French website, "Foot Mercato."
Former footballer and economist, Diogo Luis, aimed sharp criticism at the Portuguese federation, arguing that the absence of decisiveness and leadership from the very first moments allowed the crisis to worsen.
He didn't absolve Ronaldo of responsibility either, stressing that the dispute, whatever its causes, doesn't justify leaving the national team camp in the middle of training. The player's attempts to defend his position did not help to calm the situation, he said, but rather made it more complicated.
Jorge Jesus, in his view, showed he was not prepared to yield to pressure from his captain, in a confrontation that revealed the difficulty of balancing Ronaldo's historic standing with collective discipline inside the national team.
Luis concluded his position with an assessment that sums up the scale of the crisis, saying: "I will not say that anyone came out of all this a winner, because frankly I believe that everyone lost."
The federation has yet to announce a final decision.
Within a sporting context, the hardest farewells often come when it’s time for players to retire but such decisions are often more complex than you’d imagine – fraught with ego and identity dilemmas for athletes who have been consumed by their sport for so long.
Regardless of how hard it is to let go; there tends to be a right and a wrong way of going about it.
Take Lionel Messi for example. Following defeat in this summer’s World Cup final, the Argentine captain penned a handwritten letter explaining his decision to step down from the national team.
In it, the 39-year-old said the decision hurt his "soul" but thanked team-mates, coaches and family for joining him on the ride. Part of him stepping aside was to let a new generation come through behind him and he promised to support the team with the rest of Argentina from now on.
Then Messi said goodbye for real after being convinced to play one more game for La Albiceleste. Thousands of his followers flocked to Buenos Aires to celebrate a player who has become nothing short of a deity in the country and a goal and two assists in a 3-0 win against Benin seemed a fitting way to end a stellar 20-year international career.
Tears were flowing from the moment he stepped out for the warm-ups to the moment he addressed the crowd with a near 10-minute speech at the end.
Nothing is perfect but Messi trudging off the pitch in the famous sky blue and white stripes while surrounded by an adoring stadium crowd seemed as good as it could get. I think we can all agree that this is a good example of how to say goodbye.
Then, we have Cristiano Ronaldo.
On the same day Messi went out in a blaze of glory; the Portuguese captain posted a rather bizarre statement on social media which felt as strange as it did sad.
In it, the veteran forward explained his recent decision to walk away from Portugal’s UEFA Nations League training camp, feeling aggrieved that new head coach Jorge Jesus had broken alleged assurances regarding playing time and not given subsequent public apologies for reneging on said assurances.
Basically, long story short, it kind of all boils down to Ronaldo not playing 30 minutes at the end of Portugal’s win against Norway on 4 October – shock, horror.
As a result, the current captain stormed away in a strop that seemed to throw his future with the national team into question. However, in that public post on Tuesday, Ronaldo promised to come back; urging the Portuguese FA to punish him for his actions.
Yet, his whole statement felt like a "sorry, not sorry" that you’d expect more from a jilted teenager than you would from one of the greatest players in the history of the Beautiful Game.
Ever since he struggled through the 2022 World Cup; it was clear Ronaldo could no longer have a telling impact on the international stage. His influence over what happens with the team is so big that the striker has continued to play and weigh down what could've been a golden generation for the country.
This summer’s World Cup simply solidified what most people already thought: that Portugal was better off without Ronaldo. Try telling the five-time Ballon d’Or winner that…
Instead, Ronaldo continued to play in North America, shouting "I’m back" into the camera lens after scoring two goals against tournament debutant, Uzbekistan, in what could be the cringiest moment of the tournament.
Retiring from the national team seemed to be an option after that World Cup disappointment but Ronaldo said he was urged to continue by the Portuguese football federation president – something which now looks incredibly ill-advised.
Now, the aging superstar finds himself in an awkward situation where no one wants to be – overstaying his welcome like that uncle at Thanksgiving or Christmas who can’t read the room.
What’s even worse is that his prolonged farewell has started chipping away at his undeniable legacy. Don’t forget that his incredible talent inspired his nation to victory at the European Championships in 2016; a moment that his country will never forget.
That was over 10 years ago and his country is now better off without him – the eye tests of the team’s play on the pitch and the results prove as much.
Ironically, it’s the irrefutable ego that made Ronaldo so good that is now leading to his downfall – a Greek tragedy Sophocles or Euripides would have been proud to write. Perhaps he’s stuck around so long because his old rival Messi has enjoyed so much success with Argentina in recent years and he’s desperate to show the world one last time that he should be held in as lofty a pantheon as the Inter Miami forward.
Comparing the two men today makes Ronaldo look worse than he may realise. It’s now time for him to say goodbye to the national team. Doing so quickly might still enable him to have a farewell like Messi in Buenos Aires.
Most people seem to know it – except, it seems, Ronaldo himself.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo returned to club action Friday, scoring his 980th career goal in Al Nassr’s 3-0 victory over Diriyah in the Saudi Pro League.
Ronaldo has to realise that the national team is better off without him now. I'm not buying the apology message. It's just something to appease everyone. I'm sure he's proud of what he did and regrets nothing.
I know the FPF won't punish Ronaldo harshly. They will continue to treat him like a king and slap a hefty fine to him. People have to learn to stop treating him like a God. Life can easily go on without him.