Cristiano Ronaldo has left Portugal's national team camp ahead of Thursday's UEFA Nations League match against Denmark in Copenhagen.
The 41-year-old announced his exit on Instagram on Wednesday, shortly after coach Jorge Jesus said he did not plan to start him. Ronaldo said he would tell "all the Portuguese people the truth" about his reasons "in due course." He also wished Portugal and his teammates good luck.
Ronaldo is the all-time top scorer in men's international football with 146 goals and is chasing 1,000 career goals. He did not play in Portugal's 2-1 win over Norway on Sunday and has not trained with the squad since. That sparked rumours of a feud with Jesus.
Jesus said there was no problem between them. "I'm the one who makes the decisions," he said, adding that the rules are the same for everyone. He said Gonçalo Ramos would lead the attack against Denmark, but Ronaldo would play if the team needed him.
The coach admitted he had told Ronaldo he would probably play against Norway, then changed his mind. He called it a mistake to make Ronaldo warm up for so long without using him, and said any player would be upset. But he did not apologise for the change.
Jesus said a player of Ronaldo's stature deserves special attention, but insisted there was no "Ronaldo case" to solve. Federation president Pedro Proença also met the two.
The Portuguese federation said only that Ronaldo had left camp and preparations would continue with the other 24 players. It is not clear whether his absence will last beyond this international break.
Portugal lead Nations League Group A4 with six points from two games, three ahead of Denmark and Norway. They host Norway on Sunday.
The news comes just as Ronaldo's long-time rival Lionel Messi prepares for his farewell match with Argentina next week.
