Cristiano Ronaldo, the forward and captain of Saudi Arabia’s “Al-Nassr” club and a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, has apologized for suddenly leaving the Portugal national team camp.
“Elchi” reports citing foreign media that this was stated in a release issued by the Portuguese footballer.
“I decided to leave the national team camp without waiting for the promise given to me to be broken. Everyone unanimously said that my place is in the national team. Throughout my nearly 25-year career, I have never interfered with any technical or tactical decisions of any coach.
I must apologize to my teammates in the national team for leaving the team camp. I apologize once again to the people of Portugal, but breaking a promise is of decisive importance to me. Despite the coach breaking the promise he made to me, as those who witnessed these conversations can confirm, I should not have acted this way. The responsibility rests entirely on me,” Ronaldo stated.
In his address, he emphasized that he has no intention of leaving the national team ranks once and for all and is ready to return at any time.
“I can promise all my fans, and of course especially all Portuguese people, that we will have one or more farewell matches; there is still time for that. Therefore, as long as I am in good physical shape, I will play for my club and score goals. After any disqualification that may be applied to me, I will be ready to compete and win for the name of our national team, just as I have always been until today,” he said.
Earlier, the 41-year-old Ronaldo stated that he left the Portugal national team camp following a press conference by head coach Jorge Jesus, who did not guarantee the player a spot in the starting lineup. The forward did not take the field in the Nations League match against the Norwegian team on September 27, which ended in a 2:1 victory for the Portuguese.