Cristiano Ronaldo ‘upset with new Portugal boss’ after Nations League snub

Questions remain over whether Cristiano Ronaldo will feature for Portugal on Thursday after missing team training, with local media reporting that the superstar is unhappy with new coach Jorge Jesus.

Ronaldo, who is the all-time top scorer in men's international football and is pursuing 1,000 career goals, was left on the bench during Sunday's 2-1 Nations League victory over Norway.

He has not trained with the squad since then, focusing solely on gym work, the Portuguese Football Federation said.

Reports in Portugal stated federation president Pedro Proença travelled to speak with Ronaldo and Jesus after claims the forward was discontented with his omission against Norway. The federation confirmed only that Proença was accompanying the squad in Sweden as they prepare for Thursday's Nations League match against Denmark.

Ronaldo, who has 146 international goals for Portugal, posted a picture on Instagram on Tuesday wearing his national kit, accompanied by the Portuguese flag and a heart emoji.

Jesus, who took charge of the team after Roberto Martínez following the World Cup, explained prior to the Norway game that he wished to avoid overworking Ronaldo during an unusually long international break in which Portugal play four matches in 11 days.

open image in gallery

Jorge Jesus chose not to play Ronaldo against Norway (Reuters)

He intended to give Ronaldo minutes against Norway, but match circumstances prevented it. Immediately afterwards, Jesus addressed reports that Ronaldo was upset by stating he would "talk to him".

Ronaldo started in Portugal's 1-0 win over Wales last Thursday and was substituted in the 67th minute.

Portugal lead Group A4 of the Nations League with six points from two matches, three points ahead of Denmark and Norway. Wales are bottom without a point.

Portugal will host Norway on Sunday.

Just last week, Ronaldo stated that he wanted to reach 1,000 career goals and win a third Nations League title with Portugal.

He told reporters: “One goal is to achieve both – reaching 1,000 goals and the national team trying to win this Nations League.

"It's a new era with manager Jorge Jesus, whom we all know well; I just hope things go well for him."

Ronaldo noted reaching 1,000 in Portugal colours would be "the icing on the cake".

"Scoring my 1,000th goal for the national team would be the culmination of something – a beautiful story," he remarked. "It wouldn't be the end of it, but it would be a beautiful story."