The Portugal coach, Jorge Jesús, avoided commenting this Saturday on Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from the Portuguese team’s training camp and asked to focus all attention on the duel against Norway, corresponding to the fourth day of the Nations League.
In the press conference prior to the match, Jorge Jesús highlighted the level of the Norwegian team and pointed out that Portugal will have to face the match with maximum concentration.
“At this moment, for my part, I am going to focus on the team and the opponent. Norway is a team, in my opinion, one of the five best in Europe, with great players,” he stated.
The Portuguese coach also made it clear that he will speak about Cristiano Ronaldo’s situation once the match concludes. “After the game there will be time to talk about it,” he said.
Despite avoiding going into details about the controversy, Jorge Jesús wanted to highlight Cristiano’s importance for the country. “Cris is a symbol of the Portuguese team, he is a symbol of Portugal, let that be very clear,” he stated.
Portugal seeks to secure its qualification for the quarterfinals of the Nations League against Norway. Cristiano Ronaldo left the camp on Wednesday, before the match against Denmark, after Jorge Jesús confirmed that he would not start for the second consecutive match. Portugal ended up winning 4-2.
The forward had remained on the bench against Norway, without playing minutes despite warming up for more than half an hour.
After leaving the concentration, Cristiano assured on Instagram that he will explain “in due time” the reasons for his departure and reiterated his commitment to the Portuguese team.
