Ronaldo storms out of Portugal camp after row with manager Jorge Jesus

Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has sensationally abandoned the national team training camp following a fallout with head coach Jorge Jesus. Ronaldo confirmed his departure after holding crunch talks with Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) President Pedro Proenca. In a statement posted on Instagram, the legendary forward promised to clarify the circumstances behind his exit to the public, while offering his best wishes to his international teammates.

"After the press conference of the National Team coach, and following a conversation with the President of the Portuguese Football Federation, I decided to leave the National Team camp. In due time, I will tell all the Portuguese about the reasons that motivated my departure from the national team, which I always dedicated myself to. Now it's time to wish good luck to Portugal and all my teammates, without exception," posted Ronaldo on his official Instagram handle.

The tension reached boiling point during Portugal's recent UEFA Nations League campaign. Ronaldo was left on the bench for the entire match against Wales, a fixture Portugal won 2-1 with Gonçalo Ramos starting upfront in his place. Despite being instructed to warm up at half-time, Ronaldo was never brought onto the pitch.

Addressing the media on his team selection, manager Jorge Jesus Jesus said there had been no incident, although he confirmed speaking to Ronaldo. "They forced me to talk to Cristiano about an issue that didn't exist. There was nothing to talk about," he said.

"He said, 'I'm here for you to decide. If you want me to play, I'll play. If you want me to go to the stands, I'll go’," added Jesus.

"I told Cristiano he would not feature in these two matches. When the moment seemed right in the previous game, I asked him to warm up but the game demanded the players to continue. No player is happy warming up for 30 minutes and not getting on the pitch - whether it's Pelé or Maradona."

Meanwhile, UEFA has confirmed Rafael Leao will don jersey number 7 for the upcoming fixtures, which was left vacant following the departure. The rule demands that numbers 1 to 23 be occupied with no gaps for the league phases.
(With Reuters input).