Behind the scenes of the Ronaldo and Jesus conversation: is the crisis over?

Captain Cristiano Ronaldo remains at the centre of a storm in Portugal, unhappy at being left out of the recent 2-1 defeat to Norway in the UEFA Nations League.

Ronaldo skipped his national team's training session on Tuesday, heading back to the team hotel to do some work in the gym instead.

With the squad settling into their base in the Swedish city of Malmö, just across the border from Copenhagen, Ronaldo caught the eye of the Portuguese press. He turned up on the Eleda Stadium pitch half an hour before training, exchanged a few words with coach Jesus, then decided to return to the hotel.

Jesus touched briefly on that conversation after training. "I speak with Cristiano Ronaldo every day, every minute," he said.

The Portuguese sports press revealed on Tuesday evening that the coach and Ronaldo had held an emergency meeting. The situation was serious enough that Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proença reshuffled his schedule to visit the senior side and try to contain the crisis between the pair.

French network " Foot Mercato " reported that Portuguese newspaper "O Jogo" had confirmed the expected: the Al-Nassr man was deeply unhappy after Jesus promised him 30 minutes of action, only for the striker to leave the bench solely to warm up. That angered the Don and soured the mood, with the two men speaking later.

Newspaper "A Bola" reported the matter had been settled. "According to the information gathered by our newspaper, the conversation between the national team coach and the team captain went well and left a positive impression, and it is likely to ease the tension that has prevailed since the Norway match," it read.

"Record" struck the same note, pointing like the others to a calmer situation and making no mention of any punishment for the player. "The captain and the coach spoke in private on Tuesday evening and reached an agreement regarding the controversy surrounding the Norway match," the paper stated.

The "Futebol" website ran the same story but offered a sharper take. "Jesus and Cristiano Ronaldo spoke again on Tuesday evening at a hotel in the city of Malmö, and the atmosphere surrounding their relationship has calmed noticeably.

By the website's account, this latest face-to-face, the second in a long series, helped ease the tension. Some claim the dispute has softened. Others reckon it's a stretch to say it's over. What is certain is that they grew closer after a turbulent day marked by controversy.

Calmer or not, Pedro Proença stuck to his decision to bring his trip to Copenhagen forward. The federation president left Lisbon late last night and will meet Jesus and Cristiano Ronaldo today, Wednesday, in a bilateral meeting. He wants to understand exactly what happened and check the accuracy of the explanations regarding the events of the past few hours."

Portugal now turn to an away trip to Denmark tomorrow, Thursday, in the third round of the UEFA Nations League.