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Portugal coach Jorge Jesus has said Cristiano Ronaldo can return to the national team if he wishes, despite the forward walking out on his team-mates last week.
Jesus said Ronaldo could come back into the fold “if he wants to” after Portugal beat Norway without the veteran attacker to reach the Nations League quarter-finals.
The dispute began last week when Jesus left the 41-year-old on the bench for Portugal’s win over Norway.
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Ronaldo subsequently walked out on the squad on Wednesday after learning he would not start against Denmark.
“For me, Cris, in the next call-up, if he’s playing at Al-Nassr, he’ll be a player who can be called up,” Jesus told reporters, referring to Ronaldo’s Saudi club.
“If he wants to, he’ll return to the national team.”
The coach said he would speak with Ronaldo before Portugal’s next matches in November if the player wished.
“If he wants to, as we did before this call-up, we talked before the call-up, we can talk before the next call-up,” Jesus said. “But Cris is the one who’s going to decide.”
Jesus said he had told Ronaldo he needed him in the squad for his first games in charge after replacing Roberto Martinez following the 2026 World Cup.
“Cristiano should end his time in the national team the way he wants; he’s the one who will decide how he wants it,” Jesus said.
“That’s how we talked, the two of us — I said, ‘I need you’. In my first call-up, I said, ‘I need you, I need you to be close to me, playing or not playing, I need you’. And now I’m saying the same thing.”
Ronaldo, Portugal’s all-time leading scorer and most-capped player, made his debut in 2003 at the age of 18 and has played at six World Cups.
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He has said this will “probably” be his final year in football.
In his absence, Portugal became the first team to secure a place in the Nations League quarter-finals, with two group games still to play.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s long-time rival Lionel Messi will play his final match for Argentina in a friendly against Benin in Buenos Aires on Tuesday.
