After leading Portugal to a 2-1 home victory over Norway in the fourth round of the UEFA Nations League group stage, Portugal national team head coach Jorge Jesus attended a press conference. This is the third part of that press conference.

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(Jesus: Ronaldo can rejoin the national team whenever he wants, the decision is his)

(Jesus: I hope Ronaldo can end his national team career as he wishes)

Journalist: Thank you, coach. I believe we've thoroughly covered the Cristiano Ronaldo topic clearly. Next, if you're willing to answer, please bear with me...

Of course, it's their right to ask, and it's my freedom how and what to answer. This has been the rule for years, and nothing can change that.

Coach, it's not the media that created this situation on its own, but a player from Portugal's national team directly left the squad. I fully understand your difficulty in trying to explain this issue, and believe me, I choose to trust you...

Yes, but...

But I don't agree with you. Please let me finish my question, okay? A national team player did leave, he left—whether by plane or by bike, the fact is he left, and this can't be dismissed as if there's no shame or impropriety. You could say "I can't explain, I don't know how to explain it," but something must have happened. A player of Ronaldo's caliber doesn't just leave without reason, and in recent days there have been many rumors: Was there an internal meeting? Did you apologize at that meeting? Or did you express your apology to him in your own way? Coach, please tell us in your own words, what really happened?

Sorry, you said "apologize"? Why should I apologize to anyone? I will never apologize to anyone!

No, no, no, I'm not saying you...

The media has been flooded with these comments in recent days, and I think I was very clear about what everyone is talking about.

Please explain to us what really happened?

What really happened? The only thing is that the player was warming up on the sideline at that moment, that's all that happened! So you want to put all the blame on Ronaldo?

My focus is on this decision and what just happened. As for an apology, apologize to whom?

Let's not get into an endless argument and debate.

But let me clarify this: there are many rumors that you held a meeting where you expressed your apology to him, and then again at the press conference...

That's pure rumor, completely fake news.

Okay, that's clear!

Wait a minute, back to my previous point: apologize? Why should I apologize? Is there something to apologize for?

I'm just making sure if that's the case...

Yes, now it's completely clear.

Hello coach, congratulations on Portugal's four consecutive wins! Can you comment on Gonçalo Ramos's performance?

Gonçalo Ramos, like all strikers, develops rapidly through goals, and that's what Gonçalo has done in these last four matches. Besides scoring, he's also providing assists. For example, in the first goal against Denmark, he made a beautiful one-two pass with João Cancelo.

When Gonçalo Ramos started his professional career at Benfica's senior team, I happened to be Benfica's coach, so I know him very well. He has continued to develop, and now he's grown into a much more mature player. His performance fully meets my expectations, which is why I've started him in most matches. I believe he's still a rising player, and I'm confident he will be of great help to AC Milan and my colleague Rúben Amorim in the future, as he continues to get stronger.

Norway has now suffered three consecutive defeats. What's your assessment of Norway's current situation?

Yes, that's correct; they've lost three matches in a row. But we shouldn't dismiss the fact that Norway is a very good national team just because they've suffered three consecutive defeats, and this Nations League competition reflects that. However, compared to me, Norway's coach clearly knows their situation better than I do, and he certainly knows better than I do why they've lost these three consecutive matches. I can't draw deeper conclusions because I don't train with their players every day, and without knowing all the details, I can't make statements that are truly certain.

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