Jorge Jesus denies rift with Cristiano Ronaldo after he skips Portugal training

An empty training session can sometimes say more than a thousand statements. That's what happened on Wednesday with Cristiano Ronaldo, who sat out the session ahead of Portugal's match against Denmark and reportedly left the stadium while the rest of the squad kept working. The image, understandably, set off alarm bells ahead of the Nations League clash.

Head coach Jorge Jesus addressed the situation in his pre-match press conference on Thursday to make one thing clear: Ronaldo will probably not start against Denmark, but that doesn't mean there's a problem between them. "It looks like there was a problem between us, but there wasn't," the coach explained, insisting that lineup decisions are his alone to make.

Jesus said he had told Ronaldo he would probably play against Norway, but ended up changing his mind because of how the match unfolded. The coach himself admitted it was a mistake to have the forward warm up for so long only to not give him any minutes, acknowledging that "any player" would feel frustrated in that situation. Even so, he did not apologize for the change of plans.

I can promise whatever I want, I'm the coach. No player will ever make a decision for me.Jorge Jesus

The coach also left room for nuance, saying that someone with Ronaldo's track record deserves "a different kind of attention" from coaches, precisely because of his history in the sport. He said he ended up meeting with the player, something he felt "forced" to do given the stir the situation caused back in Portugal. Federation president Pedro Proenca was also present at that meeting, which Jesus considered normal, though he maintained there was no "Ronaldo case" to resolve.

I don't know what's going to happen in the match. If we need him to play, he'll play. If not, he won't.Jorge Jesus

A player nobody underestimates

While talk in the Portugal camp centered on rotations and tactical decisions, there were words for the forward from the other side too. Denmark coach Brian Riemer was clear about how much weight Ronaldo still carries for the Portuguese national team despite not being a guaranteed starter.

He's a world-class player, that much is clear. I think people tend to underestimate his importance to the Portuguese national team, and for me he's a huge icon, a player that, if you make a serious mistake and underestimate him, is something we obviously have to take very seriously.Brian Riemer

It's worth remembering the context here. Ronaldo, the all-time leading scorer in men's international soccer with 146 goals and chasing the milestone of 1,000 career goals, did not play on Sunday in Portugal's 2-1 win over Norway. Before that he had started in the 1-0 victory over Wales, though he was substituted in the 67th minute. On Tuesday he posted a photo on Instagram wearing the national team jersey alongside Portugal's flag and a heart emoji, a gesture many read as a sign there's no rift with the group.

In the standings, Portugal leads Group A4 with six points from two matches, three ahead of Denmark and Norway, while Wales sits at the bottom of the group without a point yet. After hosting Denmark, the Portuguese squad will play again on Sunday, this time against Norway.