Posted by Chinenye on Fri 02nd Oct, 2026 - tori.ng
Portugal defender Nuno Mendes says the team is ready to welcome any player, but the final decision on Cristiano Ronaldo is not in the hands of the players.
(Nuno Mendes and Cristiano Ronaldo Photo: X/Fabrizio Romano)
Portugal defender Nuno Mendes says the team is ready to welcome any player who joins the squad, but the decision on Cristiano Ronaldo is not for the players to make.
Fabrizio Romano shared his comments online, on Friday.
🇵🇹 Nuno Mendes on Cristiano: “He is a player for the national team, and we are more focused on what we have to do now and on what the coach wants to bring to us”.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 2, 2026
“As for the rest, it’s not for us to decide”.
“We’re here to welcome any player who joins us.” pic.twitter.com/s4wN3rchTc
Mendes said the team is fully focused on its next match at the DragĂŁo and on doing what coach Jorge Jesus wants.
He said Ronaldo is a national team player but the rest is not for the squad to decide.
Jesus also asked the team to stay focused on the DragĂŁo match, saying the Ronaldo situation will be dealt with afterwards.
Meanwhile, defender Renato Veiga said he is very close to Ronaldo and has a lot of affection for him, but he has been told not to speak about the matter.