Cristiano Ronaldo, the 41-year-old Al Nassr forward who walked out of Portugal's national team camp during a call-up period, has received what amounts to little more than a slap on the wrist. Because the suspension was applied retroactively, the path is now open for him to play in next month's international fixtures.
The Portuguese Football Federation said on the 20th, Korea time, that its disciplinary committee had found Ronaldo in breach of regulations and imposed a 30-day suspension along with a fine of 255 euros, or about 380,000 won. The federation cited as mitigating factors that the violation, while deliberate, was a first offense and that Ronaldo had admitted fault and accepted the punishment.
The dispute began with Portugal's UEFA Nations League match against Norway on Sept. 28 in the 2026-2027 season. Ronaldo, the team captain, was named among the substitutes but never took the field. Then, ahead of the match against Denmark on the 2nd of this month, head coach Jorge Jesus told him he would not be in the starting lineup, and Ronaldo left the camp without going through the formal release process.
He wrote on social media immediately afterward that the coach had broken his word twice and that trust had clearly been lost. He pointed to a promise that he would play against Norway, which was not kept, and to a reversal of what the two had agreed to explain jointly at a news conference. He left the door open to a return, however, saying he apologized to fans and was not retiring from the national team.
Federation rules call for a fine and a suspension of one to six months for failing to meet national team obligations or leaving without authorization. The penalty therefore came in at the one-month minimum. On top of that, according to AFP and other outlets, the period during which he had been provisionally suspended was counted retroactively from the 1st, local time, meaning the discipline expires at the end of this month.
The fine is even more symbolic. Britain's Sky Sports reported that Ronaldo's Al Nassr salary works out to about 488,000 pounds a day, or roughly 865 million won, and that his total 2026 earnings are estimated by Forbes at 225 million pounds, or about 399.2 billion won. On an annual salary basis, the outlet noted, Ronaldo could pay off the fine in 39 seconds.