Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to the Portugal national team has been thrown into further doubt after his sister Elma Aveiro suggested that the possibility of him not returning may be greater than a comeback.

According to Spanish newspaper Marca, Elma spoke about her brother’s international future at a book launch event last Wednesday. Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez was also present at the event.

Asked about Ronaldo’s chances of returning to the national team, Elma said: “I think the chances of it not happening are greater than the chances of it happening. I think both of them—Ronaldo and the coach—have been hurt. It is a situation between them. I am not involved; I am only speaking on behalf of my brother.”

She added that the situation had reached a standstill and described it as extremely complicated. According to Elma, once someone feels betrayed, restoring the relationship to how it was before can be very difficult.

Her comments have raised fresh questions over whether Ronaldo will wear the Portugal shirt again. Elma also expressed frustration that her brother’s contribution to Portuguese football has not always received the recognition she believes it deserves.

However, Ronaldo’s international future has not been officially settled. Although the Portuguese Football Federation temporarily suspended him, federation president Pedro Proença has expressed his desire to see the captain return during the November international break.

Speaking at the inauguration of Porto’s new stadium, Proença said that everyone was eagerly waiting for the captain to return.

Ronaldo’s Portugal teammates have also expressed hope that the dispute can be resolved. Midfielder Vitinha recently said he wanted everything to be settled positively and hoped Ronaldo would return to the national team.

“I just want everything to be resolved in the best possible way. I hope he comes back and everything gets sorted out. Honestly, that is what we all want,” Vitinha said.

Ronaldo has since left the national-team camp and returned to Saudi Arabia to join his club Al Nassr. He also scored in the club’s most recent match.

The 40-year-old forward has also attracted attention with a major claim about his own career. In an interview with CNN Portugal, Ronaldo described himself as the greatest footballer in history and pointed to his career statistics as evidence.

Ronaldo himself has yet to publicly comment on the possibility of returning to Portugal. For now, his availability for the November international break remains uncertain.