Football: Ronaldo leaves Portugal training camp amid reported rift with coach

Football superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo, has left Portugal’s training camp amid reports of a rift between him and head coach Jorge Jesus.

His departure on Wednesday came hours after Jesus said the forward would not start the game against Denmark in the Nations League on Thursday.

“Following the national team coach’s news conference, and after a conversation with the president of the Portuguese football federation, I decided to leave the national team’s training camp,” he wrote on Instagram.

Ronaldo, who is also team captain, said that “in time” he would “tell the Portuguese people the truth about the reasons” behind his departure. He added that he has always “dedicated” himself to the side.

“Now is the time to wish good luck to Portugal and to all my teammates, without exception,” he wrote.

The Portuguese federation said only that Ronaldo left the training camp and that the team's preparations would continue with the remaining 24 squad members.

“The entire delegation remains fully focused on the national team’s upcoming fixtures and on achieving our goals,” the federation said.

In a pre-game news conference on Wednesday, he said he was not planning to start Ronaldo, but dismissed the notion there was a feud between the pair.

Jesus said every player knows the coach makes the decisions, and that Ronaldo told him he would abide by whatever choices he makes.

But he admitted that the player had been disappointed to remain on the bench in the side's Nations League win over Norway on Sunday.

Ronaldo, who is Portugal’s record goalscorer, has not trained with the rest of the group since. Across a 23-year international career, he has scored 146 goals for his country in 234 appearances.

His departure from the camp has raised questions over whether one of football’s longest international careers was nearing its end.

The 41-year-old, who has 979 career goals, had said recently that this Saudi Pro League season with Al-Nassr is likely to be the last of his professional career.