Leão Takes the Spotlight as Ronaldo Steps Away

Portugal’s squad changes before Denmark

Portugal’s lineup for the Nations League trip to Denmark took an unexpected turn when Cristiano Ronaldo was left out of the squad and Rafael Leão was assigned the No. 7 shirt. The match list was released on Thursday morning, shortly after Ronaldo departed the national team camp.

The change carries extra weight because Portugal’s No. 7 has been tied to Ronaldo for most of the last two decades. Leão normally wears No. 17 for Portugal, so switching to 7 for this one game is a notable symbolic shift, even if it is temporary.

What changed in the squad

Player	Update
Rafael Leão	Moved from No. 17 to No. 7 for the Denmark match
Fábio Silva	Took over the open No. 17 and made the matchday squad
Bruno Fernandes	Returned after missing the Norway match because of injury
Francisco Conceição	Remained unavailable while recovering

The reshuffle followed standard Nations League registration rules, which require each of the 23 players to be assigned a shirt number from 1 to 23 for every fixture. Once Ronaldo was removed from the Denmark list, No. 7 became available and was given to Leão.

Why Ronaldo left the camp

Ronaldo exited camp on Wednesday, September 30, after Jorge Jesus’ press conference and a conversation with Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proença. He later said he would explain his decision at a later time.

The situation had already been building. Ronaldo was benched in Portugal’s 2-1 win over Norway and then trained separately from the main group despite being fit. Jesus said the forward was unhappy with the decision, but he denied that the episode amounted to a true clash between them.

What the move means going forward

1. The Denmark match now goes ahead without Ronaldo in the squad.
2. Leão gets the shirt most closely associated with Portugal’s biggest modern star.
3. Speculation about Ronaldo’s international future has intensified ahead of kickoff in Copenhagen.

Despite the noise, there has been no retirement announcement from the federation as of October 1. Ronaldo has also suggested earlier this year that the 2026/27 season could be his final campaign, which has only fueled more discussion about what comes next for him with Portugal.