The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) has provisionally suspended forward Cristiano Ronaldo and initiated disciplinary proceedings following his departure from the national team camp in September. The federation announced the move on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, stating that the investigation aims to determine the relevance of facts reported on Oct. 7. The 41-year-old player is currently subject to a non-automatic preventive suspension, and the case has been granted urgent status.
The suspension follows a disagreement between Ronaldo and Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus. On Sept. 27, Ronaldo was an unused substitute during Portugal’s 2-1 Nations League victory over Norway. Following the match, the player left the squad and later released a nearly 2,000-word statement on Instagram. In the post, Ronaldo accused Jesus of a "breach of trust," claiming the manager had promised to play him for 30 minutes but left him on the bench after he had spent the second half warming up.
Ronaldo’s statement also detailed a subsequent meeting involving Al Nassr sporting director Simao Coutinho. According to Ronaldo, an eight-point document was drafted for Jesus to use in a press conference to clarify the situation, including an admission that not playing Ronaldo was a mistake. However, Ronaldo stated that Jesus’s actual public comments did not reflect this agreement and contained an "aggressiveness" he felt he did not deserve. Jesus has denied that any such agreement was made.
The suspension affects Cristiano Ronaldo, who holds the record for most international appearances (234) and goals (146). The disciplinary action officially distances the captain from the national team while the squad leads Group A4 of the Nations League with four consecutive wins. While the player is still active for his club, Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, where he scored on Friday, Oct. 9, his eligibility for future international matches remains frozen until the federation concludes its investigation.
Ronaldo addressed his 679 million Instagram followers to present his side of the dispute. The disciplinary proceedings are being handled by the non-professional section of the FPF and were transferred to the disciplinary instruction committee on Oct. 10. According to reports from the Lisbon-based newspaper A Bola, the proceedings will remain confidential until the investigation is complete. The outcome will determine if Ronaldo faces a formal ban or if he can return to the team. In his statement, he asked the FPF to apply whatever punishment is deemed necessary without leniency.
What happens next depends on the findings of the FPF instruction committee. No specific date for a final ruling has been reported, but the case is being treated as an urgent matter. Although Jesus stated after a recent match against Norway that the door remained open for Ronaldo's return if the player desired it, the formal disciplinary process now supersedes personal invitations. The next steps involve a private investigation into the events of Oct. 7, which will eventually determine if the veteran forward will add to his international career.