Cristiano Ronaldo is surprisingly set to return to the Portugal national team as he aims for an important milestone.
Cristiano Ronaldo might be making a surprising return to the Portugal national team as he aims to hit a big milestone during his “final chapter.”
On Wednesday, Ronaldo left Portugal’s training camp before their game against Denmark on Thursday and headed to Madrid. This happened after he was left out late in the 2-1 win over Norway, where he spent a long time warming up but didn’t get to play. Frustrated, Ronaldo stormed off, leading to an emergency meeting with coach Jorge Jesus and Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proença.
Although the meeting seemed to settle things, Ronaldo later released a statement saying he would explain the reasons behind his departure from the national team. Meanwhile, Portugal went on to beat Denmark 4-2 without their captain, with AC Milan’s Rafael Leao taking the No.7 shirt.
As Portugal gets ready to face Norway again, journalist Miguel Pereira shared some hopeful news. He says talks are happening behind the scenes and believes Ronaldo could get his big farewell with the national team—and score his 1000th career goal while doing it. Speaking to talkSPORT, Pereira said Ronaldo wanted to score his final goals for Portugal in style, similar to how Pelé celebrated his 1000th goal. He thinks Ronaldo planned to score many goals this season with Al Nassr, but also dreamed of a special celebration with the Portuguese team. Pereira is hopeful this will still happen next year.
The situation around Ronaldo is still a hot topic, with many questions directed at the Portugal players. Another interesting update came from the Portuguese newspaper Record, which said Ronaldo wasn’t the only one to leave the camp—Antonio Costa, a member of the backroom staff, also left. Costa, who handles kit and equipment, is known to be close to Ronaldo and reportedly was told to pack up and leave with him.
The drama continues, but many are hopeful Ronaldo’s story with Portugal isn’t over yet.