According to Portuguese media outlet Observador, Ronaldo initially believed that his suspension, stemming from leaving the Portugal national team training camp early, would postpone any decision about his international future until March of next year. However, because the suspension ended earlier than expected, Portugal coach Jorge Jesus insisted on calling up Ronaldo in November, which ultimately prompted the national team captain to announce his retirement from international football sooner than anticipated. The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) still hopes to hold a farewell ceremony for Ronaldo, but the format has not yet been determined.
Just after 10 AM on Thursday, word began circulating within Portuguese football circles that something big was about to happen at the FPF. Journalists, press officers, and other football figures all heard the same thing. Although no one knew exactly what the news was, given everything that had happened in recent months, attention quickly turned to Ronaldo.
The news began to spread about 10 minutes before the official announcement.
Ronaldo then released a long video on social media, formally announcing his retirement from the Portugal national team. Rather than explaining his decision, the video was a nostalgic retrospective that focused on emotions and memories, with little detail about the reasons for his departure.
However, given the timing of the announcement, the reasons are not difficult to understand.
Jorge Jesus had planned to include Ronaldo in the squad, due to be announced this Friday, for the upcoming UEFA Nations League matches against Denmark and Wales. That meant the decision on whether to report to the national team training center would rest with Ronaldo himself.
But rather than turn down the call-up, Ronaldo chose to announce his retirement from international football in advance, which removed him from the head coach's consideration.
In fact, Ronaldo, who plays for Al Nassr FC, had not expected to face this decision so soon.
In early October, after leaving the national team training camp early following disagreements with Jorge Jesus, Ronaldo published a lengthy letter making his attitude toward the future clear.
He wrote at the time: "If I am in good physical condition, able to continue playing for my club, and still hope to score goals, then after serving the suspension imposed on me, I will, as always, be willing to represent our national team in matches and strive for victory."
The key phrase in this statement was "after serving the suspension imposed on me."
According to Ronaldo's original assessment, the suspension resulting from leaving the national team camp early would keep him out of the squad announced this Friday. That would have allowed any decision, whether Jorge Jesus called him up or whether he accepted the call-up, to be postponed until the next international break in March of next year.
However, the decision of the FPF's disciplinary committee disrupted his plans.
Because the days of his earlier provisional suspension were counted toward the formal penalty, Ronaldo's one-month ban actually ended last week, on October 30.
This meant that Jorge Jesus was entirely free to call up the Al Nassr FC forward this Friday without any disciplinary restrictions.
Ronaldo, however, felt that too little time had passed since the disagreements during the last national team training camp, and that he was therefore unable to rejoin the national team under the current coaching staff.
Specifically, Jorge Jesus had never responded to Ronaldo's earlier lengthy letter, in which Ronaldo accused him of "breaking promises," and Jorge Jesus had not publicly apologized as Ronaldo had demanded.
Ultimately, Ronaldo chose to retire from the national team outright to avoid a more awkward situation: publicly refusing a national team call-up.
For its part, the FPF had originally planned for Ronaldo to take part in the next national team training camp.
Ronaldo had clearly told FPF President Pedro Proença that he did not wish to return to the national team training center for the time being. Proença then conveyed this position to Jorge Jesus.
However, Jorge Jesus refused to accept leaving Ronaldo out of the squad and said explicitly that he would call up the national team captain as long as Ronaldo's physical condition met the requirements.
According to the original plan, Ronaldo and Jorge Jesus were to have a phone conversation on Thursday, the day before the squad announcement, with Proença mediating.
But the call never happened, because Ronaldo was unwilling to speak with Jorge Jesus at all.
Before posting his retirement video on social media, Ronaldo had already told Proença of his decision to end his international career.
Nevertheless, the FPF still hopes to hold a final tribute for its long-serving national team captain. A statement published on the FPF's official website also expressed this wish clearly.
However, the specific arrangements for the farewell ceremony are still undecided, because, at least for now, Ronaldo does not want to play another official farewell match for the Portugal national team.