Following Cristiano Ronaldo's retirement from international football, Portugal are expected to have a new captain, and Jorge Jesus has revealed the five names that could take on the role. According to the Portuguese coach, the captaincy is not determined by the coach's personal preference, but by the number of appearances he has made for the national team.
"The player with the most international appearances after Cristiano is Bernardo Silva," Jesus said during a press conference. In addition to the Manchester City midfielder, he also included Bruno Fernandes, Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo and Ruben Neves in the list of candidates.
Bernardo Silva leads the list with 115 appearances for Portugal. He is followed by Bruno Fernandes with 97 appearances, while Ruben Dias has 84, Joao Cancelo 77 and Ruben Neves 73 appearances for the national team.
Another interesting detail that Jorge Jesus revealed is that all five players have previously been under his management at club level. So, after Ronaldo's departure, Portugal looks set to entrust the leadership of the team to one of the most experienced players of the current generation.
