An interaction between Rasmus Hojlund and Jorge Jesus after Thursday night’s Nations League clash between Denmark and Portugal goes viral.
Portugal remain unbeaten under new head coach Jesus after goals from João Cancelo, Gonçalo Ramos, Vitinha and João Félix, who secured a hard-fought 4-2 victory over Group D opponents Denmark.
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The build-up to this week’s match in Copenhagen has been dominated by the country’s all-time leading scorer, Cristiano Ronaldo, who decided to leave Portugal’s squad on Wednesday following reports of a conflict with Jesus.
Ronaldo was therefore unavailable for the clash against Denmark, but his presence was still a little noticeable when goalscorer Rasmus Hojlund performed his trademark “Siu” celebration after making it 2-2.
Hojlund has previously described Ronaldo as his childhood idol, so the gesture itself came as no surprise. That said, the timing was certainly interesting given the events of the last few days.
Rasmus Højlund and the Jorge Jesus moment after the final whistle goes viral
Shortly after the final whistle, Højlund could be seen shaking hands with Portugal’s squad when he was approached by head coach Jorge Jesus.
Jesus patted Hojlund on the chest, prompting the Dane to reciprocate the gesture. Despite being pushed backwards, Portugal’s boss responded with a smile. Hojlund, on the other hand, seemed far from impressed.
It was a moment that was captured by many spectators, and one fan commented: “Rasmus Højlund did NOT look happy with Jorge Jesus.” Another wrote: “Who saw Højlund push Jorge Jesus away.”
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For context, it is reported that a conflict between Jesus and Ronaldo stems from Portugal’s victory over Norway on Sunday, when the latter was sent off to warm up for around 30 minutes in the second half, but was not substituted.
An emergency meeting was then held with Ronaldo, the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, Pedro Proença, and Jesus, who reportedly apologized after the incident.
According to El Chiringuito’s Edu Aguirre, a close friend of Ronaldo, Jesus is said to have promised to admit the mistake publicly.
However, the head coach sent a clear message in his press conference that no player is bigger than the team.
Jesus’ actions seem to have caused unrest, even though Portugal’s boss is ready to address the situation publicly.
Before Portugal’s clash against Denmark on Thursday night, he said: “I will explain everything after the last game. I have many years in football and I know that I didn’t do anything that should have caused things to go differently.
“After the Norway game, we will talk about this topic. I don’t want to hide or run away from it. No one can take away from Cristiano what he represents. He is an icon, and that is not up for discussion.”
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