Ronaldo could return. Jesus is ready to accept him
New insights have emerged in the controversy surrounding the Portugal national team.
Ronaldo could return. Jesus is ready to accept him
There is a possibility that Cristiano Ronaldo will play for the Portugal national team again — a final point has not yet been put on this matter. The forward wants to score the 1000th goal of his career specifically while playing for the national team.
Portugal, continuing to play even without Ronaldo's participation, defeated Norway 2:1 and secured a spot in the Nations League play-offs ahead of schedule. At the post-match press conference, the team's head coach Jorge Jesus was asked again about the situation regarding Cristiano. As it turned out, the situation has softened slightly:
"For me, everything is still open. Cristiano must decide his own life. Everything that happened is a big misunderstanding, and I think this situation is easy to resolve. If he continues to play in the team, he can return whenever he wants. Why not?
I have no ill feelings towards Cristiano. All of this is easy to resolve. I am not upset. He will decide himself. When will this happen? I don't know, we'll see. We have only just finished the match."
However, at the press conference after the match against Denmark in the previous round, he had expressed a sharp opinion on this matter (this was the first match after Ronaldo had left the national team's camp):
"Did this situation force me to reconsider my views? No, absolutely not. There are star players, but the rules are the same for everyone. I have always believed this throughout my entire career, and I will continue to believe so."
A return is beneficial for both the federation and Ronaldo
Shortly before the match against Norway, Portuguese journalist Miguel Pereira spoke in detail about the situation in an interview with talkSport. According to him, relations between those in the national team and Ronaldo have begun to warm up:
"The point is, he is still 21 goals away from reaching the thousand mark. He really wants to score the final goal for Portugal. He aims to easily score 15-20 goals for Al-Nassr, but most importantly, he wants to host a celebration that honors himself and his history with the national team. And despite what happened, I believe this will happen."
In his opinion, local football officials cannot simply give up on Ronaldo: