Dhaka, Oct. 7 -- It began with Cristiano Ronaldo warming up for half an hour and never getting on the pitch.

It has since produced an abandoned training camp, conflicting accounts from Portugal's captain and coach and, remarkably, an eight-point document featuring Pele and Diego Maradona.

Ronaldo finally broke his silence on Tuesday with a lengthy statement setting out his version of the extraordinary dispute with Portugal coach Jorge Jesus that led him to walk out of the national team camp last week.

The timing was notable.

Ronaldo's account landed only hours before Lionel Messi, his great rival for much of the past two decades, was due to make his final appearance for Argentina in an elaborate farewell at Buenos Aires' Monumental st...