Jorge Jesus never got the call. Portugal’s head coach learned Cristiano Ronaldo was walking away from the national team the same way the rest of the country did, through the forward’s video message on Thursday, 5 November 2026.

Hours later, Jesus sat down with the Portuguese federation’s own broadcaster, Canal 11, and described a parallel scene inside the federation’s training complex: a huge image of Ronaldo mounted in the team auditorium, there for the younger players Jesus is now trying to build the next cycle around.

“I had a huge photo of him put up in our auditorium so that all the young players could look up to him every single day,” Jesus told Canal 11.

The 41-year-old Ronaldo did not warn the coach before publishing the video. According to Canal 11, he spoke only to Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proença before releasing the announcement, and had stopped responding to messages from Jesus in the days before.

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The request Jesus made before November

Jesus said he had tried, in private, to change Ronaldo’s mind before the November international window was named.

“I asked him to continue with me because I needed him by my side. But I have to accept his decision,” he told Canal 11.

The breakdown had been building for weeks. Ronaldo walked out of Portugal’s training camp during the October international window after being benched against Norway and told he would not start against Denmark, and the federation responded with a 30-day suspension and a fine. His last appearance for Portugal had already come on 24 September, a 1-0 home win over Wales in the Nations League.

A year together at Al-Nassr

The silence between the two men is sharpened by what they shared in Saudi Arabia. Jesus and Ronaldo worked together for a single season at Al-Nassr, where the coach guided the club to the 2025-26 Saudi Pro League title, Ronaldo’s first trophy in the Gulf. Jesus left Al-Nassr in the summer to take the Portugal job on a four-year contract, replacing Roberto Martínez after the World Cup round-of-16 exit to Spain. Jesus referred to that shared Al-Nassr season to Canal 11 and called Ronaldo a permanent reference for Portuguese football.

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Ronaldo retires as Portugal’s record scorer with 146 goals in 234 appearances, the most caps in men’s international football. Proença, who was informed before the public was, wrote to the forward that “the doors of the Portuguese Football Federation will always remain open to Cristiano Ronaldo.”

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