Cristiano Ronaldo is on Portugal’s preliminary squad list again. His own last public word on the subject was goodbye.

Portuguese radio station Renascença reported on Monday that the 41-year-old is in Jorge Jesus’s provisional group for the final two Nations League group fixtures, alongside Al-Nassr team-mates João Félix and Samu Costa. The final 23-man squad is due to be announced on 5 or 6 November, and Jesus has said he is working from a list of more than 40 names.

Portugal play Denmark in Braga on Friday 14 November and finish Group A4 away to Wales in Cardiff three days later. Portugal top the group with 12 points from four matches.

The suspension clock has run down

Ronaldo abandoned the national team camp in Copenhagen the day before Portugal’s September group match against Denmark, after being left on the bench in the previous fixture against Norway and after a conversation with Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proença.

Read also: “Many Ballons d’Or”: Spain boss makes huge Lamine Yamal prediction after Kane win

He explained the exit in an Instagram post.

“After the national team’s press conference and after a conversation with the president of the Portuguese football federation, I decided to leave the national team’s training camp,” Ronaldo wrote on 30 September.

“Now the moment has come to wish Portugal and all my team-mates, without exception, the best of luck.”

The federation responded with a 30-day suspension beginning 30 September. By the time Jesus submits his final list in early November, the ban will have expired, which is why the forward’s name can appear on this week’s preliminary group.

Read also: Bukayo Saka delivers emotional Ballon d’Or speech

O Jogo’s “irreversible” line is still on the record

The complication is that at the time of the walkout, Lisbon daily O Jogo reported the decision as “taken and irreversible”, writing that Portugal’s match against Wales earlier in 2026 would stand as Ronaldo’s final appearance in the national shirt.

That reporting has not been formally retracted. According to Renascença’s own reading of the Portuguese press, O Jogo now describes Ronaldo as still “part of Jorge Jesus’s plans”, but no public statement has come from Ronaldo himself since the Instagram farewell four weeks ago.

Jesus was appointed in July after Roberto Martinez stepped down following Portugal’s last-16 exit to Spain at the 2026 World Cup. From the start, Jesus said he would keep the door open for Ronaldo if the forward wanted it, and the pre-selection is now that stance put into practice.

Ten days to the final squad

A preliminary list is not a call-up. It is an eligibility signal and, this time, a public offer. The real decision point lands on 5 or 6 November, when Jesus has to cut his group of 40-plus names to a 23-man squad for Braga and Cardiff.

Read also: Erling Haaland silences critics as remarkable Man City transformation emerges

Portugal and Denmark kick off in Braga on 14 November at 7:45pm local time.

Read also: Sinner changes coach ahead of 2027