Cristiano Ronaldo Leaves Portugal Camp Ahead of Denmark Clash, Promises to Reveal Truth

Cristiano Ronaldo has left Portugal's camp ahead of their Nations League game against Denmark in Copenhagen on Thursday, and he says he will explain why "in due course."

The 41-year-old announced his exit on Instagram on Wednesday, shortly after coach Jorge Jesus said he did not plan to start him against Denmark. He did not play in Sunday's 2-1 win over Norway and has not trained with the group since, which got people talking about a possible feud with Jesus. Ronaldo is the all-time top scorer in men's international football with 146 goals and is chasing 1,000 in his career.

"After the press conference of the national team, and following a conversation with the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, I have made the decision to leave the national team training camp," Ronaldo wrote in Portuguese. "In due course, I will tell all the Portuguese people the truth about the reasons that led me to leave the national team, to which I always dedicated myself. Now is the time to wish Portugal and all my teammates good luck, without exception."

[Denmark Boss Warns Portugal Will Face “Big Problem” When Cristiano Ronaldo Retires]

The federation kept its reply short. It said only that Ronaldo had left and that the remaining 24 players would carry on preparing. 

"The entire delegation remains fully focused on the national team's upcoming fixtures and on achieving our goals," it said. He also skipped training on Wednesday and reportedly left the stadium where the team was working.

Earlier, in his pre-match news conference, Jesus said the coach makes the calls and that Ronaldo had told him he would accept them. He added that the "rules are the same for everyone" and that Goncalo Ramos would lead the line against Denmark if all goes to plan. "I don't know what's going to happen in the game," Jesus said. "If we need [Ronaldo] to play [at some point], he'll play. If not, he won't."

Jesus, who worked with Ronaldo for about a year in Saudi Arabia, said the striker did not refuse to train after being left on the bench against Norway. "It seems like there was an issue between us, but there was no issue," he said. "I'm the one who makes the decisions and everybody knows that."

He did admit he had told Ronaldo he would probably play against Norway, then changed his mind because of how the game went. He called it a mistake to have Ronaldo warm up for so long and not use him, and said "any player" would be upset by that. He did not say sorry for the earlier promise, though. "I can promise whatever I want, I'm the coach," Jesus said. "No player will ever make a decision for me."

Still, he said a player of Ronaldo's stature deserves a different kind of attention from coaches "because of his career and history in soccer." Jesus took over from Roberto Martinez after the World Cup. He said he was "obligated" to meet Ronaldo because of all the noise in Portugal, but insisted there was no "Ronaldo case." 

The federation president, Pedro Proenca, joined the talks, which Jesus said was normal. "We had to talk the three of us, but I had already talked with Cris and the president didn't have to solve anything because there was nothing to solve," he said.

Ronaldo started Portugal's 1-0 win over Wales last Thursday but came off in the 67th minute. On Tuesday he posted a photo of himself in the kit, with the Portuguese flag and a heart emoji.

Portugal top Group A4 with six points from two games, three clear of Denmark and Norway, while Wales have none. They host Norway on Sunday. It is not yet clear if Ronaldo's exit will last beyond this international break. The news also lands days before Lionel Messi's farewell match with Argentina next week.