Portugal beat Denmark 4-2 without Cristiano Ronaldo on the pitch. The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) still has every reason to keep him in the squad, and most of those reasons are financial.
That is the central argument in a commercial analysis by Heavy.com, which puts hard numbers on what a clean break would cost the federation. The piece notes that Ronaldo’s 29 posts around the last World Cup generated an estimated $107 million in audience value, more than the FPF’s own 565 posts across the same window, which came in at $79 million.
The federation’s 2024-25 revenue was $153 million, Heavy reports, with $23.5 million of that tied to the senior national team through advertising, television and licensing deals. Walk away from the player who delivers more digital reach than the entire institution and that revenue line gets harder to defend.
FPF president is pacifying, not confronting
Ronaldo left Portugal’s training camp on October 1 after head coach Jorge Jesus confirmed he would not start against Denmark. The 41-year-old had already sat out the entire 2-1 win over Norway four days earlier, his first non-injury, non-suspension absence for Portugal since November 2024.
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On Instagram, Ronaldo told his followers he had spoken with FPF president Pedro Proença before leaving.
“In time, I will tell all the Portuguese the truth about the reasons that motivated me to leave,” he wrote.
Proença’s response has not been the response of an administrator pushing back.
“He will always be part of this squad if he is technically fit to play,” the FPF president said, describing the dispute as a misunderstanding that had to be resolved internally.
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“Ronaldo is a symbol of our country. He is a Portuguese icon, an absolutely extraordinary player who could have ended his international career after the World Cup but chose not to out of love for the national team.”
A six-month ban is on the books, but unused
Under FPF regulations, a player who abandons a national team camp faces a suspension of one to six months and a fine. No disciplinary process has been opened.
Jesus himself has played down the walkout.
“If he wants to, he’ll return to the national team. We can talk before the next call-up, but Cris is the one who’s going to decide,” he told reporters.
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The reasoning behind that soft tone sits off the pitch. Ronaldo signed a Nike lifetime partnership in 2016, reportedly valued at up to $1 billion over its lifespan, and runs active deals with Herbalife and Tag Heuer. Forbes puts his annual endorsement income at around $65 million.
He is also the most-followed person on Instagram with 679 million followers as of October 2026, a platform the federation has leaned on to monetise everything from kit launches to friendlies.
Portugal’s next fixtures are on 14 and 17 November. Jesus has said he is willing to talk before the next call-up, and Proença has left the door open.
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