Surprise: Ronaldo considered retiring from international football after the World Cup, and Jesus convinced him to complete the journey!

Portuguese journalist Nuno Luz has lifted the lid on the crisis between national team captain Cristiano Ronaldo and head coach Jorge Jesus, revealing the details of the emergency meeting called to settle the dispute.

It all started when Ronaldo spent the entire recent match against Norway on Portugal's substitutes' bench. Portugal won the UEFA Nations League clash 2-1, but their absence from the pitch left the Al-Nassr captain furious.

Ronaldo then refused to train after the Norway game. He did sit down with Jesus, and the pair seemed to have patched things up, until the coach fronted the press ahead of the Denmark match and insisted no player, nor anyone else in football, would change his thinking. That prompted the Don to walk out of Portugal's camp and head for Madrid.

Nuno Luz told the programme "La Tribu" on Radio Marca: "The end of Cristiano's journey with Portugal cannot be like this. What happened is not good. It leaves a bad impression".

As reported by newspaper " Marca ", Luz revealed he had spoken with Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proenca. "He was very angry about this matter," he said. "And it cannot end like this, because Cristiano has a history. He is part of our history".

According to Luz, Cristiano had been toying with the idea of ending his Portugal career after the 2026 World Cup. "After the World Cup, the idea of not returning to the national team was on Cristiano's mind, as he saw that as the end of the road," he said.

"Jorge Jesus tried to convince him to stay," he added. "The coach would call him at his home daily during the summer, assuring him that he was the person entrusted with leading this project. The matter even reached the point of a meeting being held with the player, where Jesus and the president of the Portuguese Federation visited him at his home in the city of 'Cascais' to have coffee".

Luz continued: "Finally, they reached an agreement: 'It was settled, as he wanted to play the first match against Wales, and the last match against Norway on home soil on Sunday'".

The crisis blew up on the day of the Norway match. Jesus phoned Cristiano that morning to tell him the plan had changed. "I've changed my mind, you can be an important element, and I'll bring you on to play for 30 minutes," the coach told him. And here, Nuno says, lies the error.

Nuno reckons the promise should never have been made at all. "No coach in the world can promise a player participation for 30 minutes if he hasn't included him in the starting line-up," he says. The game then shifted the plan again, because "the match was not suitable for Cristiano, rather the moment required defending the 2-1 lead".

Cristiano's anger pushed the situation to the point of a meeting between all parties. The federation president had to travel urgently, Nuno explained, and the trio met afterwards.

The three agreed, according to the Portuguese journalist: "Let us join the national team, for the national team is the most important thing and we will do things properly".

"Jesus admitted his mistake, as he should not have stated that he would play for 30 minutes," Luz added. "For his part, Cristiano also accepted the fact that he needed to be with his teammates, and together they reached an understanding".

The truce did not last. Cristiano had expected the coach to say something specific in the press conference, Nuno explained, and it never came. "Cristiano was listening to the press conference while he was already at the stadium, but Jesus did not say anything regarding that".

For Nuno Luz, Cristiano's Portugal story deserves a better finish. "The ending must be different, because he deserves a tribute and a farewell match," he affirmed.

Now the world waits on Cristiano's own version, though Nuno does not expect him to speak straight away. "I don't think this is the right time to speak. I think he will speak once this round of national team matches is over. He has to speak, and he has stated that he will present his point of view on the matter".