Ronaldo’s Just Fine

When Ronaldo was firing on all cylinders, his enormous ego was tolerated. Perhaps it’s part of what made him so damn good. After all, it seems to be an unspoken rule that you can be big-headed as long as you’re delivering the goods.

But as performances in a Portugal shirt dwindled, so did many people’s patience with his attitude. The issue has been bubbling for some time, coming into sharp focus at the 2026 World Cup, where, despite a couple of goals, tepid performances raised questions about why he was in the squad, let alone starting games.

Fast-forward to late last month, when Portugal beat Norway 2-1 in Oslo. Despite apparently being promised a run-out, manager Jesus left Ronaldo on the bench. 

Since that worked so well, Jesus announced he wasn’t planning to start Ronaldo in the next game against Denmark. That was too much for Portugal’s all-time top scorer, who walked out of the Copenhagen training camp and left by private jet, in true prima donna fashion.

What followed was a baffling Instagram statement, posted to his 679 million followers, accusing Jesus of broken promises and a “breach of trust” over his role in the team. In the same breath, he demanded that he himself be punished, even arguing that being captain should make his punishment harsher.

Of course, when it came to the actual disciplinary hearing, the tune changed. Ronaldo pleaded guilty, but his legal team still asked for leniency, duly submitting his career CV, complete with Ballon d’Ors and trophies, as evidence of what a good boy he’s been.

Showing no mercy whatsoever, the Portuguese FA channelled their inner sadist and handed down an earth-shattering punishment: a 30-day suspension, backdated by 19 days and covering precisely zero football matches, plus a £215 fine. It remains to be seen how Ronaldo will scrape that together on an Al-Nassr salary reported at around £488,000 a day.

All jokes aside, the punishment is so pointless it makes a mockery of the whole exercise. At those wages, he’d clear the fine in about 39 seconds. For comparison, when Ricardo Carvalho walked out of Portugal’s camp in 2011, he was banned for a year and lost his Euro 2012 bonuses.

The whole exercise left every party looking bad. The Portuguese FA were toothless in their response and ultimately showed who still wears the trousers. Ronaldo himself, despite some crocodile tears, demonstrated he is not a team player.

For many Portuguese fans, there can be little doubt now that their national team cannot progress until their once-talismanic mascot bows out.