Jorge Jesus appointed new Portugal coach, increasing the likelihood of Ronaldo prolonging his international career

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8 July 2026

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Portugal

coach Jorge Jesus is a very different personality to his predecessor Roberto Martínez (Photo: Bruna Prado/Getty Images)

As has been widely speculated since Portugal’s defeat to Spain, which led Roberto Martínez to step down as Seleção coach, Jorge Jesus has been appointed as the next national team manager.

The appointment has not been made official yet, but the Portuguese press are reporting it as a done deal and the move has received the now famous “Here we go!” treatment from Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano.

Portuguese Football Federation boss Pedro Proença was widely reported as wanting to replace Martínez with José Mourinho one year ago, but when the Spaniard led

to the victory in the Nations League he was kept on.

With Mourinho now at Real Madrid for a second spell, Proença has turned to Jorge Jesus, another of Portugal’s most successful coaches over the last two decades.

JJ, as he is often referred to in Portuguese football, could not be a more different profile to Roberto Martínez. Forget the polite, diplomatic and smiling approach to all media duties. JJ is brash and will readily berate, bark at and ride roughshod over opinions that differ from his own.

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Wednesday, 8 July 2026

Even on the sidelines during matches, he is often seen remonstrating with his own players in animated fashion if he feels they are not carrying out his instructions correctly.

Jesus has an excellent record at producing winning teams, and usually highly entertaining ones. He is the main man responsible for pulling Benfica out of the worst spell in their history. After ten years without a single league title, JJ put the Lisbon giants back on top in

, winning three championships and multiple other silverware during his time at the Estádio da Luz, and leading the team to two European finals.

It remains to be seen whether Jesus’s famously intense and meticulous coaching methods can be successfully transferred to the Seleção. Can he mould

to play in accordance with his ideas when he has just a few, very spaced-out training sessions per year?

We can certainly expect a far more proactive approach by

in big tournament games than what we saw under both Fernando Santos and Roberto Martínez.

Another fascinating aspect to track will be how the appointment affects the role of some high-profile

players, given their past with JJ, not least

Cristiano Ronaldo

The

captain has said he will not play another World Cup. He has not yet said if he’ll be available for the Euros. Jesus was Ronaldo’s coach at Al Nassr this past season, leading the team to its first league title since Ronaldo has been in Saudi Arabia, and showering the striker with praise for the role he played in the triumph. We may yet see Ronaldo play on in a

shirt.

Jesus has also worked propitiously with Bruno Fernandes and João Félix. The former first exploded into a world-class midfielder while playing under JJ at Sporting, while the veteran manager helped rekindle Félix’s career at Al Nassr last season. Félix was named player of the year in Saudi Arabia.

On the other side of the coin, Jorge Jesus has

publicly clashed with Bernardo Silva

in the past, which potentially could make it difficult for them to work together.

A new chapter for the Seleção and it promises to be anything but dull.

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