The Portugal national football team reportedly lost 2 million Instagram followers overnight after Cristiano Ronaldo left the team’s training camp following alleged disagreements with head coach Jorge Jesus, prompting the country’s leadership to discuss ways to bring Ronaldo back.
Ronaldo reportedly left the Portugal team at 2 a.m., while at 10 a.m., the organizers assigned his No. 7 shirt to another player. The decision to give Ronaldo’s iconic shirt number to another player just hours after his departure sparked strong unease and anger among his fans.
Fans of Ronaldo around the world began unfollowing Portugal’s official Instagram account.
Out of Portugal’s 25 million Instagram followers, 2 million reportedly unfollowed the account overnight in protest, leaving it with around 23 million followers, with the number continuing to decline.
The player who was given Ronaldo’s No. 7 shirt is also reportedly uncomfortable with the decision. He said he did not want to take the number and had told his coaches that Ronaldo should be respected, adding that Ronaldo had only just left and he could not understand how he could take his number.
However, he said that after being pressured by the coaching staff, he had to accept the No. 7 shirt.
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