Cristiano Ronaldo has been left out of the Portugal squad for their upcoming October internationals against Poland and Scotland at his own request.
The 33-year-old, who captains his nation and has made 154 appearances, is currently embroiled in a sexual assault scandal dating back to an incident in Las Vegas in 2009 – though he denies any wrongdoing.
The ongoing scandal is not the reason for his absence, however, with Portuguese newspaper A Bola reporting that he has asked to be left out of the side until 2019.
That means, as well as missing this month’s matches, he will also be unavailable for games against Italy and a rematch against Poland in the middle of November.
He was also left out of the squad in September, meaning he has not played for the European champions since their unspectacular appearance at the World Cup in Russia.
The reason for Ronaldo’s absence is that he has asked both manager Fernando Santos, and federation chief Fernando Gomes, for more time to adapt to life at Juventus. Read more