"Like a ghost": Ronaldo ignores Jesus in the farewell week

Cristiano Ronaldo dropped a bombshell by announcing his retirement from international football. The behind-the-scenes detail proved even more intriguing. According to reports in the Portuguese press, the national team captain never bothered to inform his coach Jorge Jesus of the decision that brought him to the brink of ending his career in his country's shirt.

Portuguese newspaper "Record" claim Ronaldo told Pedro Proenca, president of the Portuguese Football Federation, of his decision without ever contacting Jesus or letting him know he would not return to represent the national team. The snub lays bare just how tense relations between the two parties have become in recent times.

Jesus awaits Ronaldo: messages go unanswered

Here's the surprise: Jesus had been planning to call Ronaldo up to the Portugal squad, due to be announced on Friday, because the coach wanted to keep relying on his captain. Then it became clear the relationship between them was no longer what it had been.

According to the newspaper, Ronaldo had ignored the messages the manager sent him over the past weeks. That silence laid bare the widening gap between the pair, whose relationship had reached a stage of complete estrangement after the events in the Danish capital, Copenhagen.

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Copenhagen behind the scenes: the flashpoint

Copenhagen proved the decisive turning point in Ronaldo's relationship with Jesus. Later attempts to clear the air came to nothing. The bond between captain and coach was heading for an ending few had seen coming.

Ronaldo drew a line under his international career with a video posted to his official accounts on Thursday. He announced he would not return to represent Portugal, and he never took the news to the coach who was preparing to call him up once again.

A legendary ending: and a controversial farewell

Ronaldo leaves the Portugal national team at the age of 41. In 234 international matches he scored 146 goals, remaining the most-capped player and all-time leading scorer at national-team level, a legacy that will be difficult to repeat.

The end, though, did not come the way the Portuguese star had hoped. Rather than a fitting send-off alongside his team-mates and coach, he departs amid a severe crisis with Jesus. That has thrown open questions about what happened behind the scenes, and how the relationship between the two sides reached this ending.