CORNERFLICK
Portugal lost more than one million Instagram followers within a day of Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from camp, after the captain left following a public row with coach Jorge Jesus.
Ronaldo leaves after Jesus row
Ronaldo did not play against Norway on Sunday, and Jesus later said he had told the forward he would start on the bench. The coach added that neither Ronaldo nor any other player, and not even the president, would change his ideas.
In a statement on social media, Ronaldo said he had left camp after the coach’s press conference and a conversation with the president of the Portuguese football federation. He said he would explain the reasons for his exit soon and wished Portugal and his team-mates success.
Social media numbers fall
The Portugal account had 24.9 million followers at first, but by Thursday evening that figure had dropped to 23.8 million.
Former Sun columnist Piers Morgan, who knows Ronaldo well, suggested on X that there was more behind the departure than the public explanation. He wrote that the reason for leaving was not what it seemed, and that Ronaldo would make it clear when he spoke about it.
Ronaldo’s number 7 shirt was handed to another player less than 24 hours later. Rafael Leão wore it against Denmark in the Nations League, where Portugal won 4-2 and Gonçalo Ramos scored the second goal.