Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed that he had already prepared a farewell letter to the Portuguese people and intended to leave the national team after the 2026 World Cup before the president of the Portuguese Football Federation persuaded him to reconsider.
Ronaldo made the revelation while giving his account of the events surrounding his latest Portugal departure, explaining that he had already decided what he wanted to say to the Portuguese public when his international career eventually came to an end.
He said he still has the letter, which he had prepared after the 2026 World Cup with the intention of addressing the Portuguese people when he left the national team for good.
That plan changed during the journey home from the United States.
Ronaldo said the president of the FPF asked him to reconsider his decision to leave and insisted that the federation wanted him to continue representing Portugal.
“At the end of the competition, already on the flight back from the United States, the President of the Federation asked and insisted that I reconsider the decision to leave, because the FPF wanted me to continue,” Ronaldo said.
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The request led Ronaldo to reconsider his plans and remain available to the national team.
The federation president subsequently asked Ronaldo for his opinion on the next head coach, telling him that he was considering several names, including Jorge Jesus. Ronaldo said he believed Jesus would be the right choice.
“I told the President of the Federation that, in my opinion, it would be the right choice,” he said.
Ronaldo said he was therefore genuinely pleased when Jesus was appointed and presented as Portugal’s new head coach, describing the decision as the right option.
A few days later, Jesus contacted Ronaldo and asked to meet him in person. The two eventually met at the Cidade do Futebol while Ronaldo’s club was holding its pre-season training camp.
According to Ronaldo, Jesus told him during that meeting that he was counting on him and that his presence was fundamental to his project. The coach also outlined a plan for Ronaldo’s involvement in the upcoming national team matches.
The subsequent disagreement between the two men eventually became the reason for Ronaldo’s latest departure from Portugal, but the revelation about the farewell letter shows that Ronaldo had initially intended to end his international career after the 2026 World Cup.
Instead, following the intervention of the FPF president, he chose to continue.
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That decision ultimately led to another chapter under a coach Ronaldo had himself supported, before the relationship deteriorated over the events surrounding the Norway match.
Ronaldo’s farewell letter, he revealed, remains with him, having been prepared for an international retirement that he had expected to begin after the 2026 World Cup.
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