Ronaldo adopted a partly reconciliatory tone in his statement, although he also criticised Portugal coach Jesus while outlining his account of the disagreement that led him to leave the squad the previous week.
He claimed that Jesus had approved an arrangement allowing the forward to sit out the matches against Norway and Denmark so he could manage his physical condition.
Yet on the day Portugal faced Norway, the 72-year-old manager informed him that he would feature for 30 minutes.
Ronaldo said everyone knew what followed: he began warming up at half-time, watched the clock run down and was never sent onto the pitch.
He accused the coach of failing to keep the promise made to him.
During a subsequent meeting, Ronaldo and Jesus agreed that the manager would explain the situation at his next press conference.
Ronaldo said they drafted an eight-point statement confirming that he had never insisted on receiving playing time, had accepted Jesus’ decisions and that asking a player comparable in status to Pele or Maradona to warm up without using him had been an error.
Portugal’s most-capped player said the agreed document did not call for an apology from Jesus, but maintained that the manager’s public comments differed from what they had discussed privately.
Ronaldo explained that the press conference did not reflect the tone or substance of their meeting.
He said the language and hostility directed towards him felt undeserved, adding that the coach displayed a superior attitude in public that had been entirely absent from their private conversation the day before.
Ronaldo described it as the second occasion on which Jesus had failed to honour his word and said he left the training camp rather than risk facing further unfulfilled commitments.
Before Jesus became Portugal’s head coach, Ronaldo had endorsed his former Al Nassr manager as the most suitable candidate for the position.
Ronaldo revealed that he had thought about ending his international career after Portugal were eliminated in the last 16 of the summer World Cup. He had even prepared a letter containing the farewell message he intended to share with supporters, but FPF president Pedro Proenca persuaded him to reconsider during the flight home from the United States.
His actions divided opinion in Portugal, with Jesus receiving backing from some supporters and sections of the media, while others remained firmly supportive of the celebrated forward.
Despite saying that his trust in Jesus’ promises had completely disappeared, Ronaldo accepted that leaving the camp was wrong and took full responsibility for his decision, apologising to his teammates and Portugal’s fans.
He added that he owed his national-team colleagues an apology for departing the camp and again expressed regret to the Portuguese public, while stressing that a promise being broken carried decisive importance for him.
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