Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed he left Portugal's training camp in Copenhagen on Wednesday, amid reports of a dispute with head coach Jorge Jesus on the eve of their UEFA Nations League match against Denmark.
"Following the national team manager's press conference, and after a conversation with the President of the Portuguese Football Federation, I have decided to leave the national team's training camp," Ronaldo wrote on Instagram, adding that he would tell Portuguese fans "the truth about the reasons behind my departure" in due course.
The Portugal squad later arrived at their hotel without Ronaldo and without Jesus, with the whereabouts of both still unknown at the time.
Earlier on Wednesday, Jesus had denied that Ronaldo refused to train, even as the Portuguese Football Federation confirmed the forward did not take part in the team's final session before Thursday's match.
"He didn't refuse. He's going to train today," Jesus told reporters. "It's the fourth day, so he's going to train. And he didn't refuse to train. It's impossible. Do you believe that? Not Cris."
Jesus insisted there had been no incident, though he acknowledged speaking to Ronaldo about the situation. "They forced me to talk to Cris about an issue that didn't exist. There was nothing to talk about," he said. "He said, 'I'm here for you to decide. If you want me to play, I'll play. If you want me to go to the stands, I'll go.'"
A Portuguese newspaper posted a video appearing to show Ronaldo leaving Copenhagen's Parken Stadium in a federation vehicle shortly after Jesus had stated the 41-year-old would take part in the session. According to reports, Ronaldo intended to board a private flight to Madrid in the hours that followed.
Tensions had been building since Sunday, when Ronaldo did not feature in Portugal's 2-1 victory over Norway. Jesus had told him he would come off the bench but ultimately decided against bringing him on. Ronaldo then trained separately in the gym on Monday and Tuesday, despite carrying no injury.
Portuguese Football Federation President Pedro Proenca had travelled to Copenhagen on Tuesday, reportedly changing his plans to meet with both Jesus and Ronaldo ahead of Thursday's fixture.
The episode follows remarks Ronaldo made at a news conference last week, in which he said the media had been trying to "kill" him for years and that he could leave the squad "today" if the manager did not want him.
Ronaldo is Portugal's all-time record goalscorer with 146 goals and their most-capped player with 234 appearances.
