António Salvador slams Ronaldo: ‘Cristiano’s attitude wasn’t the best’ | OneFootball

António Salvador, president of Sporting de Braga, criticized Cristiano Ronaldo’s decision to leave the Portuguese national team camp, in statements to Lusa on Saturday night in Toronto. Without questioning the forward’s place in the history of Portuguese football, the official said the move did not match the responsibility of a captain. He also argued that the national team should focus on results and expressed confidence in Jorge Jesus’s leadership.

António Salvador’s comments come after Ronaldo left Portugal’s training camp in Copenhagen of his own accord on Wednesday, shortly after once again becoming the main topic at the national coach’s press conference. The previous Sunday, in Oslo, the forward did not come off the bench against Norway, despite warming up for much of the second half, and left the pitch dissatisfied after the final whistle before missing the following training sessions. It is against this backdrop that the Braga president separates his recognition of the player from his assessment of the decision.

Ronaldo’s status was not in question in the official’s remarks. The criticism focused on his attitude, without erasing what the international represents for Portuguese football.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is a legend of Portuguese football, he is the greatest player of all time and he will always be remembered as the greatest player of all time. Now, the attitude Cristiano Ronaldo had, I understand it was not the best attitude,” said António Salvador.

The Sporting de Braga president stressed that he does not know the reasons for the departure or any possible disagreements. Even so, he placed Ronaldo’s role as captain at the center of his assessment.

“He was the captain and he left the national team,” he said. “Regardless of whether there were disagreements or not, I don’t know because I’m not aware of them. But I think it was not a well-thought-out decision.”

Salvador also admitted that the 41-year-old forward may have decided in the heat of the moment. In his view, more distance from the episode might have led to a different choice.

“I think that, perhaps, at this point, Cristiano Ronaldo probably would not make that decision. It was perhaps a decision made in the heat of the moment,” he argued.

The criticism is therefore limited: Salvador does not offer an explanation for the departure, but he questions the judgment behind a decision made by the captain. Ronaldo confirmed on social media that he spoke with Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proença before leaving the camp, and promised that “in due time” he will tell “all Portuguese people the truth about the reasons” behind the decision. The FPF confirmed the departure without providing explanations, at a time when the forward holds the world record of 234 international caps and 146 goals for the senior national team, with which he won Euro 2016 and the Nations Leagues of 2019 and 2025.

For the Braga official, however, the discussion should not take space away from the team’s preparation. The priority, he says, is sporting: to work toward the national team’s objectives and win the matches ahead.

“What is important right now is the national team’s total focus on working to achieve the objectives it is involved in, on winning games,” he stressed.

The message seeks to shift attention from the individual episode to the collective response. Without withdrawing his criticism of Ronaldo, Salvador places results at the center of what the national team should now focus on again.

That confidence in the team’s path also rests on Jorge Jesus. The Sporting de Braga president highlighted how well he knows the national coach and the ability he believes he has to lead Portugal.

“I know him very well, I know very well what he is capable of doing for the national team, how far he is capable of taking this team, and I have a lot of faith in his work, I have a lot of faith in Jorge Jesus’s leadership,” he said.

Asked whether Portugal is stronger at this stage, Salvador preferred to speak of a change in leadership and a distinctive style. He also highlighted the three wins in the first three matches under Jorge Jesus and the importance of winning the next game at the Dragão Stadium.

“It is a new era, a new leadership, a leadership that has a very distinctive style of its coach, who decides what he thinks is best for the national team,” he said.

Rather than drawing a comparison with the past, Salvador gave the national coach a vote of confidence. His response emphasizes Jorge Jesus’s autonomy to choose what he believes is best for the national team and paves the way for an appeal for support from the Portuguese people.

That support, he argued, should extend both to the coach’s decisions and to the players representing Portugal. The focus he called for from the national team also extends, in his words, to the way the country follows the team.

“The Portuguese people and Portugal have to support this decision, they have to support our national coach and support all the players who are in our national team so that we can stay focused, so that they can win the matches ahead,” he concluded.

The call for unity has as its immediate horizon Portugal-Norway, scheduled for 19:45 at the Dragão Stadium. The Portuguese national team, the current Nations League holder, leads Group A4 with nine points, compared with three for Norway, Wales and Denmark. For Salvador, that competitive level is where the center of attention should now be.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.