Ashura Uzumaki

🚨💣 BREAKING: Cristiano Ronaldo goes ALL OUT in an OFFICIAL STATEMENT explaining what happened in Portugal NT: “As I promised, I have decided to recount, in the first person and in a straightforward manner, the circumstances surrounding the National Team’s last training camp. After the 2026 World Cup, I drafted a letter to the Portuguese people—which I still keep—containing the words I want to share with them when I leave our team for good. At the end of the tournament, right on the flight back from the United States, the Federation President asked—and insisted—that I reconsider my decision to leave because the FPF wanted me to stay on. Immediately afterward, he asked for my opinion on the current head coach, whose name he was considering along with others he did not reveal to me. I replied to the Federation President that, in my opinion, it would be the right choice. So, on the day the current head coach was introduced, I was genuinely happy with the choice. It was the right decision, as the results have shown. A few days later, I received an initial message from the new national team coach saying he’d like to meet with me in person. I agreed, and we scheduled the meeting for the end of my vacation. We met at Cidade do Futebol, where my club was holding its preseason training camp. The coach told me that day that he was counting on me and that my presence was essential to his project. Right then and there, he presented me with a plan for my role on the team. He told me I would play in the first and last games and that, for fitness management reasons, he would always make three to four substitutions per game. At that point, he raised the possibility that I might not travel with the national team to Norway and Denmark. He suggested that I play in the first game and stay in Portugal, and then rejoin the team before the game at the Dragão. I immediately rejected this proposal. It seemed obvious to me that I couldn’t accept it. Just because I wouldn’t be playing the away games didn’t mean I would stop captaining our team. That privilege of staying in Portugal wouldn’t set a good example. The head coach ultimately agreed with my assessment. This conversation was attended by Simão Coutinho, the sporting director of Al Nassr—the person to whom the current head coach reported throughout last season and one of those responsible for his signing with the club in 2025. On the eve of the training camp, the head coach came to my home in Lisbon to have another conversation with me, at his request. The conversation was calm, and all the principles agreed upon in August were upheld. I played in the match at Alvalade, and even though I was substituted, I didn’t make a fuss. I placed the captain’s armband on Bruno Fernandes myself, never imagining that I might be taking my final steps as both a player and captain of the national team. The most important thing about that day, for me, was our victory. Winning is always good; winning in Portugal and for my country is even better. At lunchtime on game day in Norway, an assistant to the head coach came over to the table where the team was having lunch and told me that the head coach wanted to speak with me. To my utter surprise, the head coach asked me if I was up for playing 30 minutes. I was completely focused on my physical recovery, getting along with my teammates as always, and assuming I wouldn’t play that day. No problem at all. This request was somewhat outside my physical recovery and training plan—since I was only supposed to play on the 4th at the Dragão—but of course I said yes. He replied that I should be ready because I’d be playing 30 minutes. Everyone knows the rest. I warmed up after halftime, watched the minutes tick by, and wasn’t called in. The coach had broken his word to me. At the end of the game, I just wanted it all to be over with a victory and to be left alone. I didn’t go out to greet the fans. That was a mistake for which I alone am responsible, and it shouldn’t have happened. I apologize to the Portuguese fans who supported us so passionately there; I apologize to the fans; and I apologize to those who, though not Portuguese, may have traveled there to see me and whom I may have disappointed. Forty-eight hours later, the coach, Simão Coutinho—since he had been the one to follow up on our conversations from August—and I had a conversation. It was a profound moment, very direct, without any kind of filter. We agreed that there was only one way to put an end to this “incident”: for the Head Coach to repeat what he had just told me in private, in the presence of Simão Coutinho, but in the press room. What we agreed on was simple: the coach would begin the press conference by addressing this issue, seeking to put the matter to rest by telling the truth. He would say that I had never asked to play any minutes at all, that it was the coach—and no one else—who had proposed the plan for this training camp, that it had been a mistake to have me warm up only to not play, and that if it happened again, he wouldn’t do it. We ended that meeting with the head coach asking for a hug, promising me that he would say at the press conference what he had just told me and that the matter was behind us. I wouldn’t play in Denmark and would play in the game at the Dragão. All of this took place in the presence of Simão Coutinho, the entire time. At the coach’s request, a videoconference meeting was then held between himself, Simão Coutinho, and Tiago Craveiro, during which we summarized what we had discussed. A short document was drafted, which I personally approved and which, with my knowledge, was delivered to the coach, just as he had requested. The press conference went as we know: his demeanor had nothing to do with our meeting; I heard remarks and a level of aggression that I feel I do not deserve—an attitude of “I want, I can, and I command” that he never displayed toward me, not even remotely, in private, the day before. The notes I approved were as follows: “I think it’s important—not least because it’s the truth—to clarify a few things before talking about Denmark: 1. I myself—and no one else—proposed a plan to Cristiano for this soccer season with the national team. It was a long and very good conversation. 2. I know how much he lives for and loves the national team and the impact it has on the world—and even more so, the impact and positive influence he has had on the national team for 24 consecutive years. 3. The plan I proposed to Cristiano was accepted. 4. He never questioned my decisions. He was exemplary, loyal, and professional. 5. The plan I laid out for him did not include the game against Norway. However, I felt he had managed to recover physically from the first game, so I told him I might have to use him. Cristiano agreed. 6. I made a mistake by having someone of Pelé’s or Maradona’s stature warm up and then not putting him in the game. If it were today, I wouldn’t do it. 7. To wrap this up: I want Cristiano on the national team. In fact, I don’t just want him a little—I want him very much. Fortunately, he believes in me too. He believed in me at Al Nassr, and he believes in me here as well. 8. Regarding not greeting the fans. We’ve already talked about that. Someone who’s played over 230 games for the national team doesn’t need lessons from me on love for Portugal. It was a moment of frustration that doesn’t erase anything. He’s the player who signs the most autographs, takes the most selfies, and shows the most affection to the fans. Let’s not create problems where none exist. When we’re not happy, we react. That’s all there is to it.” None of these notes, therefore, indicated that the head coach had even apologized to me. This was the second time he had broken his word to me. I decided to leave the training camp without waiting for any further broken promises. For me, the truth is still the most important thing in relationships between people. No matter how much it hurts, I want people to tell me the truth. In fact, in a conversation I had with the President of the FPF and the coach on the morning of that press conference—and they can certainly confirm this—I reiterated that if they didn’t want me there, they should just tell me. All they had to do was be honest with me. I would have accepted that, and I promised that we would put together something beautiful—as I still dream will happen—and no one would be upset. I remember it as if it were yesterday. They replied in unison that no, my place was on the national team. Never, at any point, have I interfered in any technical or tactical decision made by any coach or national team manager in my nearly 25-year career. I simply accept—for better or worse—whatever they ask me to do. I respect the decision, and when they go back on their word, I feel that my place isn’t there. I also owe an apology to my teammates on the national team for having left the training camp. Despite the complete breach of trust in the head coach’s word—as anyone who witnessed these conversations can attest—I shouldn’t have done it. The responsibility is entirely mine. I apologize to the Portuguese people once again, but breaking my word has, for me, a defining impact. I felt that, from that point on, my continued presence would only harm the team, so I did what I always said I would do if I didn’t feel useful: I packed my bags and left. The consequences of my actions must be assessed and punished by the Portuguese Soccer Federation. I understand that there should be no mitigating circumstances for this punishment. I’m not just any player—I’m the team captain—and that constitutes an aggravating factor. I’ve already apologized, but I know that actions must have consequences. Anyone involved in soccer as I am knows that, regardless of one’s status, the rules are the same for everyone. In this regard, I’ve heard a lot of talk about farewell games—that I deserve a dignified farewell and that the Federation wants to give me that opportunity. I’ve learned in life—often going hungry and with nothing to eat—that nobody gives anything to anyone. I can promise all my fans—and especially all the Portuguese people—that we’ll play one or more farewell games; there will be time for that. But when I think about the national team, what really comes to mind is competing. That’s what I was thinking about the day I received the news of my father’s death. I was at a training camp with our national team, and I decided right then to stay until the next day’s game was over. I did that for my country—something I would never do for any club. So if I’m physically fit, playing for my club—and scoring goals, I hope—after serving whatever suspension is imposed on me, I’ll be available, as I’ve always been until now, to compete and win for our national team. This is, believe me, the absolute truth."