Cristiano Ronaldo left Portugal’s training camp on Wednesday, hours after coach Jorge Jesus said the veteran forward would not start Thursday’s Nations League game against Denmark.

The 41-year-old Ronaldo said he would reveal the reasons for his departure "in time,” promising to tell the Portuguese public "the truth about the reasons” behind his decision.

"Following the national team coach’s news conference, and after a conversation with the president of the Portuguese football federation, I decided to leave the national team’s training camp,” Ronaldo said in an Instagram post, adding that he had always "dedicated” himself to the national team.

"Now is the time to wish good luck to Portugal and to all my teammates, without exception,” he added.

The Portuguese Football Federation confirmed that Ronaldo had left the training camp but provided no further details. It said preparations for the Denmark match would continue with the remaining 24 players in the squad.

"The entire delegation remains fully focused on the national team’s upcoming fixtures and on achieving our goals,” the federation said.

Jesus said at the pregame news conference that he was not planning to start Ronaldo but dismissed the notion that there was a feud between the pair.

Jesus said every player knows the coach makes the decisions and that Ronaldo told him he would abide by whatever choices he made.

The coach added that the "rules are the same for everyone” and that Gonçalo Ramos would start up front against Denmark if everything went to plan.

"I don’t know what’s going to happen in the game,” Jesus said. "If we need him to play at some point, he’ll play. If not, he won’t.”

Ronaldo, the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football with 146 goals and pursuing the milestone of 1,000 career goals, did not play Sunday in Portugal’s 2-1 win over Norway. He has not trained with the rest of the group since, sparking widespread rumors about a possible feud with Jesus.

Jesus had said Al-Nassr forward Ronaldo would train normally with the rest of the squad on Wednesday, but the player left the training camp after the coach’s news conference.

Ronaldo, who has 979 career goals, said recently that this Saudi Pro League season is likely to be the last of his professional career.

Earlier this year, he said the 2026 World Cup would be the last of his career but did not specify when he would stop playing for Portugal.

Jesus, who worked with Ronaldo for about a year in Saudi Arabia, said the player did not refuse to train after being left on the bench against Norway.

"It seems like there was an issue between us, but there was no issue,” Jesus said. "I’m the one who makes the decisions and everybody knows that.”

Jesus acknowledged that he had told Ronaldo he would likely play against Norway but changed his mind because of the circumstances of the match.

He said it was a mistake to send Ronaldo to warm up for as long as he did and then not use him. Jesus added that "any player” would be upset about that.

But Jesus did not apologize for telling Ronaldo that he was likely to play.

"I can promise whatever I want, I’m the coach,” Jesus said. "No player will ever make a decision for me.”

Jesus said, though, that someone with Ronaldo’s stature deserved a different type of attention from coaches "because of his career and history in football.”

Jesus, who took over the squad from Roberto Martínez after the World Cup, said he ended up being "obligated” to have a meeting with Ronaldo because of the noise created in Portugal over the situation.

But he maintained there was no "Ronaldo case” to talk about and nothing to resolve between him and the player because nothing was wrong.

Jesus said it was normal that federation president Pedro Proença also met with the pair.

"We had to talk, the three of us, but I had already talked with Chris and the president didn’t have to solve anything because there was nothing to solve,” Jesus said.

Ronaldo started Portugal’s 1-0 win over Wales last Thursday but was substituted in the 67th minute. On Tuesday, he posted a photo on Instagram of himself wearing the national team kit, accompanied by the country’s flag and a heart emoji.

Portugal leads Group A4 of the Nations League with six points from two matches, three points ahead of Denmark and Norway. Wales is last with no points.

Portugal also hosts Norway on Sunday.

It was not immediately clear whether Ronaldo’s departure would extend beyond the current international break.

Wednesday’s news comes just as Ronaldo’s longtime rival, Lionel Messi, is set for his farewell match with Argentina next week.