A close friend of the Portugal coach has alleged that Jesus was threatened with dismissal if he did not publicly apologize to Ronaldo, a claim that has sent shockwaves through Portuguese football.

According to SIC Notícias, Carlos Padrão, a former goalkeeper and personal friend of Jorge Jesus, revealed on the ‘Jogo Aberto’ program that Tiago Craveiro, a strategic consultant for Cristiano Ronaldo’s company CR7 SA, contacted someone in Jesus’ entourage before the press conference ahead of the Denmark match.

The alleged message was clear: if Jesus did not open the press conference with a public apology to Ronaldo, he would be dismissed. Padrão stated that the threat was not made directly to Jesus, suggesting it may have been passed to his lawyer.

The fallout has left Jesus deeply affected. According to Padrão, who spoke with the coach on Tuesday morning, Jesus is ‘very sad’ about the entire situation.