Portugal coach ‘knew nothing’ about Ronaldo retiring

Portugal coach Jorge Jesus said he had no advance warning of Cristiano Ronaldo’s decision to retire from international football, learning of it when the public did. He said he had planned to include the in-form Al-Nassr forward in his squad, making the announcement a surprise just before he was due to name his selections for the Nations League.

Ronaldo, 41, announced his retirement in an Instagram video on Thursday. His final appearance for Portugal was a 1-0 win over Wales in September; he leaves with a men’s world-record 146 goals in 234 internationals and helped Portugal win Euro 2016. Jesus also addressed their earlier dispute over Ronaldo being left out of the starting side, while federation president Pedro Proença promised to honour the forward’s contribution.