Portugal suspend Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo shocked the footballing world over the international break when he walked out on his Portugal teammates.

The 41-year-old, who has spent two stints at Manchester United in his career, left Portugal’s national setup early through discontent after an emergency meeting involving the Portugal Football Federation president Pedro Proença and manager Jorge Jesus.

It came after the former Manchester United star and five-time Ballon d’Or winner was substituted against Wales before spending Portugal’s 2-1 win over Norway on the bench, then refusing to celebrate with his teammates and fans.

Ronaldo has since apologised to his teammates for his actions in a statement, reiterating his commitment to performing for Portugal after serving whatever suspension is imposed on him.

The former Real Madrid and Juventus star, who now plays in Saudi Arabia for Al-Nassr, clearly feels his actions are in need of that punishment.

According to Portuguese outlet A Bola, the Disciplinary Council of the Portuguese Football Federation has now officially opened disciplinary proceedings against Cristiano Ronaldo following his abandonment of the National Team’s training camp.

Ronaldo is now on provisional suspension, with the federation releasing a statement, saying, “Disciplinary proceedings were initiated against Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, by decision of the Non-Professional Section, on October 9, 2026, with the objective of ascertaining the potential disciplinary relevance of the facts reported on October 7, 2026.

“Without prejudice to the automatic preventive suspension to which he was subject until the date of initiation, a non-automatic preventive suspension of the player was determined, and the proceedings were given urgent status.

“The proceedings were sent, on October 10, 2026, to the Disciplinary Instruction Committee of the FPF (Portuguese Football Federation), with publicity excluded until the end of the investigation.”

It’s a remarkable period for Portuguese football, and rather than going out with celebration, Ronaldo is being suspended by his national side.

The situation is not yet totally clear, however. The length of Ronaldo’s suspension is not yet clear, and if the 41-year-old wants to score his 1000th goal for his country, he may be waiting a while longer.