The Portuguese football expert Pedro Sepúlveda reports that Cristiano Ronaldo chose to retire from international football as he did not receive the public apology he had requested from head coach Jorge Jesus.
Sepúlveda stated in an interview with talkSPORT that Jesus and Pedro Proença, the president of the Portuguese federation, attempted to convince Ronaldo, who was 41 years old, to rethink his decision in the days leading up to his declaration.
Ronaldo, who has 234 caps and a record 146 goals for the national team, returned to wearing the No. 7 jersey last Thursday, confirming the decision in a video.
The divide had been widening since the international window of September and October.
According to Sepúlveda, “Johnson admitted that he would never apologise to any player,” but Ronaldo insisted on a public apology from Cristiano Jesus.
“Jesus has made it plain that he will not give Ronaldo what he wants,” he continued. Consequently, Cristiano’s tenure as a member of the Portuguese national team under Jesus’s tutelage has come to an end.