Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo set to return, local press reacts

There is surprise in Portugal

Europe Today at 09:22

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Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo set to return, local press reacts

This Saturday, Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proença attempted to calm the situation regarding Cristiano Ronaldo. He publicly stated that the entire institution wanted to see its captain return during the next international break in November.

The decision has prompted reactions in Portugal in recent hours. The desire to ease tensions contrasts with the criticism expressed in Portugal over the handling of this crisis. Several observers now believe that no one has emerged from this confrontation in a better light. Since then, reactions from the Portuguese press have revealed the extent of the unease.

In his column published by A Bola, Nélson Feiteirona questioned the consequences of this affair and the place given to the Portuguese legend. “Cristiano Ronaldo, the best Portuguese player of all time, deserves preferential treatment, and it does not surprise me that he benefits from different disciplinary rules, nor that these rules can be circumvented to allow him to return to the national team. He is the best elephant in the room in the world,” he wrote ironically.

The Portuguese dressing room raises concerns

Nélson Feiteirona also highlighted the questions surrounding the future of this collaboration, particularly how Ronaldo and Jorge Jesus will now coexist and how the dressing room will react. “If this conviction is shared by the entire Portuguese people, I know that not everyone understands why Cristiano Ronaldo should return as if nothing had happened,” he stressed regarding Pedro Proença’s stated wish.

🚨 OFFICIAL: Cristiano Ronaldo has been provisionally suspended by Portuguese Federation after disciplinary case opened. Cristiano Ronaldo has been “provisionally suspended”, now waiting for the final verdict and decisions about the case. It was Cristiano himself to suggest a punishment in a public statement after he apologised for leaving Portugal’s camp. The official statement from the Portuguese Federation ⤵️ “The initiation of disciplinary proceedings against Cristiano Ronaldo, by deliberation of the Non-Professional Section, of October 9, 2026, with the purpose of the investigation of any disciplinary relevance of the facts participated on October 7”. “Without prejudice to the automatic preventive suspension to which he was subject until the date of establishment, the non-automatic preventive suspension of the player was determined and the urgent nature was attributed to the process”.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 10, 2026

On the other hand, the debate goes far beyond the question of a simple return to the national team. In another analysis published by A Bola, lawyer Gonçalo Almeida, a judge at the FIFA Court of Arbitration for Sport, denounced a saga that ultimately harmed all the protagonists. “Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from the national team’s training camp, on the eve of the match against Denmark, turned into a genuine national saga. Social media posts, promises of the truth, official statements, contradictory versions, and even billboards—this all borders on ridicule and seriously harms the protagonists, the national team and the country itself,” he believes. The lawyer even called on the various parties to settle their dispute discreetly while protecting the interests of the national team.

Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.