Zlatan Ibrahimović is not often cast as the voice of restraint, but that is the role he has taken on with Cristiano Ronaldo. In a recent interview, the Swede told the Portugal captain to stop letting his ego do the driving.
“You don’t need to ruin the legacy you built with your ego,” Ibrahimović said. “Leaving the Portugal camp without speaking to any of your teammates? That’s disrespectful.”
He then held up his own career as the example.
“You need to understand that you’re no longer young. Look at Zlatan. I was young once. I competed and then I retired. Even lions know when the hunt is over.”
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The night Ronaldo left Copenhagen
Ronaldo, 41, walked out of Portugal’s training base on 30 September, hours after head coach Jorge Jesus told reporters that Gonçalo Ramos would start against Denmark and that selection rules “are the same for everyone.” Ronaldo had already sat out the 2-1 win over Norway on 27 September.
On Instagram that night, he said he had spoken with Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proença before leaving.
“In due course, I will tell all Portuguese people the truth about the reasons that led me to leave the national team to which I have always dedicated myself,” Ronaldo wrote, adding: “Now is the right time to wish good luck to Portugal and to all my team-mates, without exception.”
A later statement stopped short of international retirement: “I’ll be available, as I always have been, to compete and win for our national team.”
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Portugal 4, Denmark 2, no Ronaldo
Twenty-four hours after the walkout, Portugal went to Parken and beat Denmark 4-2, with Ramos leading the line, Vitinha heading in a Bruno Fernandes free kick on 67 minutes and João Félix closing the win in the 87th. Portugal now sit top of Nations League A Group 4 with 12 points from four matches, six clear of Denmark with two games to play.
The No. 7 in Copenhagen went to Rafael Leão, assigned by UEFA squad-numbering rules that leave no vacancy once a player quits the camp. The Milan forward kept the moment quiet.
“Wearing the number 7 shirt was something special for me, because Cristiano has been my idol since I was a child,” Leão said afterwards.
Jesus insists the door is open
Jesus has denied any feud with Ronaldo. In the days after the walkout he said it is up to the forward whether he returns, noting he coached him last season at Al-Nassr. Ronaldo himself has not conditioned a comeback on the manager’s departure, despite reports that he would.
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Portugal’s next Nations League fixtures are at home to Denmark on 14 November and away to Wales on 17 November.
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