Cristiano Ronaldo’s fiery statement has sparked widespread controversy among Portuguese football fans.
Reactions have been split between those sympathetic to the national team captain and those defending coach Jorge Jesus’s decisions.
Ronaldo, 41, had left Portugal’s training camp in Copenhagen ahead of the match against Denmark.
After warming up but not taking part in the match against Norway, he later revealed what had happened.
In an attempt to gauge public sentiment, Portuguese newspaper “A Bola” launched a poll in which more than 25,000 readers took part, aiming to assess the fallout from the crisis and how it might be resolved. The results were shocking and surprising when it comes to the legend’s future with his national team.
The results showed that the overwhelming majority of fans do not want to see Ronaldo return to the squad.
More than 70% of participants believed the player no longer has the right circumstances to return to the national team.
They considered what happened to effectively mark the end of his international career.
By contrast, 14% of readers appeared more optimistic, insisting the crisis would pass and that everything would return to normal within a few days.
About 7% of voters proposed a middle-ground solution in which Ronaldo would take on a player-coach role, while 6% placed full responsibility on coach Jorge Jesus.
They argued that it was Jesus who broke his promise, and that the two cannot continue together — a choice must be made between them.
The remaining roughly 3% believed that only Ronaldo’s advisers know the full truth.
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