Cristiano Ronaldo is not following Lionel Messi into international retirement just yet. The Portugal superstar said he will remain available to play for his national team, despite having walked out on the squad during the current international window. In a long statement posted Tuesday, just hours before Messi’s much-anticipated farewell game with Argentina, Ronaldo said recently hired coach Jorge Jesus hadn’t been true to his word about when he would play the striker in the latest round of Nations League matches. Still, the 41-year-old Ronaldo said he owed fans and his teammates an apology and expects to receive a punishment. “I can promise all my fans, and naturally especially all Portuguese people, that we will have one or more farewell matches. There will be time for that,” Ronaldo said. He added: “Therefore, if I am physically fit, playing for my club, hopefully scoring goals, then after serving whatever suspension is imposed on me, I will be available, as I have always been until today, to compete and win for our national team.” Ronaldo was an unused substitute for Portugal’s 2-1 win over Norway in Oslo. He then left camp after Jesus said the star forward wouldn’t start the game against Denmark last Thursday. Portugal beat the Danes 4-2 in Copenhagen. A punishment could be pending Ronaldo could possibly face a harsh punishment for leaving the training camp. The federation’s disciplinary regulations say that any player who “abandons or fails to appear” without justification at a training session, match or activity of the national teams, “shall be sanctioned with a suspension of one to six months,” in addition to a fine. Ronaldo did tell the federation that he was leaving, but it wasn’t clear whether the decision would be considered justified in accordance with the regulations. “Despite the absolute breach of trust in the coach’s word, as anyone who witnessed these conversations can attest, I should not have done it,” Ronaldo said. “The responsibility is entirely mine. I apologize to the Portuguese people once again, but the breaking of one’s word has, for me, a defining impact. I felt that, from that point on, my staying would only harm the group, and I did what I have always said I would do if I didn’t feel useful: I picked up my bags and left.” He said “I believe the punishment should be no mitigating factors,” as he is the team captain “and that is an aggravating factor.” “I have already apologized, but I know that actions must have consequences. Anyone in football as I am knows that, regardless of each person’s status, the rules are the same for everyone.” Jesus and federation president Pedro Proença recently downplayed the “misunderstanding” that led to Ronaldo’s decision to leave the training camp, saying after a 2-1 win over Norway in the Nations League on Sunday that the veteran star could return whenever he wants. Previous decision to play on Ronaldo said that after the World Cup he prepared a farewell letter to Portugal fans, but ended up deciding to remain with the national team after a request from the Portuguese soccer federation. He said he was asked by the federation about his opinion on Jesus and said “he would be the right choice” as the national team’s coach. Ronaldo, who plays for Saudi club Al-Nassr, said he’d agreed to a plan for managing his playing time and that he expected the coach to publicly clarify the situation and accept responsibility. He said a short document was given to Jesus with eight points that Jesus would address during a news conference, including one that said the coach would take blame for asking “someone of the stature of Pelé or Maradona” to warm up but not put him in the game. Ronaldo said that ultimately Jesus didn’t follow through and instead spoke aggressively at the news conference, causing a breakdown of trust. “It was the second time he was failing to keep his word to me,” Ronaldo said. “I decided to leave the camp without waiting for any further broken promise. For me, the truth is still the most important thing in the relationship between people. No matter how much it may hurt, tell me the truth.” Ronaldo said he had told Jesus and Proença that “if they did not want me there, they should tell me. All they had to do was be frank with me. I would accepted it,” a nice farewell could have been arranged “and no one would angry.” “I remember it as if it were today,” Ronaldo said. “They answered in unison that ‘no,’ that my place was with the national team.” Ronaldo added that in a career of almost 25 years he never “interfered in the technical or tactical decisions of any coach or national team manager.” “I respect the decision, and when they break their word to me, I feel that my place is not here,” Ronaldo said. He ended his long statement by saying: “This is, believe me, the purest of truths.” ___ Tales Azzoni, The Associated Press AP Sports Writer Steve Douglas contributed to this report.
