Cristiano Ronaldo: The coach refuses to apologize. CR7 warned: “You’ll end up in the elephant graveyard.”

Portugal has had two outstanding weeks in terms of results, winning all four of its Nations League matches and becoming the first team to qualify for the quarterfinals of the European competition. But in Portugal, the talk is of something entirely different: the rift between Cristiano Ronaldo and head coach Jorge Jesus is dominating the front pages of the newspapers.

After playing (without shining) in the first match against Wales, Ronaldo was benched for the entire 90 minutes against Norway, then decided to leave the training camp in a rage over Jorge Jesus’s comments. The Portuguese continued to win without CR7, but the controversy back home has only intensified.

At a press conference following the latest victory over Norway, Jesus refused to apologize: “I’m not apologizing to anyone. The problem that caused all this was the warm-up he did before the Norway game. He warmed up and didn’t come on: that decision is to blame. But apologize for what? To whom? That’s a lie. Apologize for what? What was the problem I was supposed to apologize for? I know what Ronaldo represents; that’s why I said Cris won’t return to the national team only if he doesn’t want to. It’s not up to me. There was no problem between him and me—it’s just that a lot of people got involved afterward. I want him to stay.”

While the president of the Portuguese Football Federation is organizing another peace meeting, former French national team player Bixente Lizarazu has spoken out forcefully about the situation. On the Telefoot program, he was very critical of all parties involved: “If this feud continues, it’s a serious mistake on the part of all three: the Federation, Jorge Jesus, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo’s ego has driven him to work like crazy to break every record. But you reach a point where it becomes his worst enemy. It used to be his strength, but now it’s his worst enemy because he’s at the age he is and will end up in the elephant graveyard.”