Portugal football star Cristiano Ronaldo (41) announced on Thursday (Nov. 5) that he is retiring from international football. He will continue to play in club competitions.
Ronaldo has now made this decision following a recent clash with Portugal coach Jorge Jesus. He announced his decision in a long video and posted it on social media.
In recent times, Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Ronaldo, who stood as two of the football world’s greatest giants, have retired from international football one after the other, exactly one month apart. It is worth recalling that Messi announced his retirement on October 6 last year.
Ronaldo, fondly called “CR7” by fans, made his international football debut at the age of 18 on August 20, 2003, in a friendly match against Kazakhstan. Since then, he has played for the Portugal team for nearly 24 years.
Portugal, which had not won major tournaments until then, went on to lift the European Championship once (2016) and the Nations League twice (2019, 2025) after Ronaldo arrived. However, even under his leadership, Portugal has not managed to win the World Cup.
Ronaldo, who has won the Ballon d'Or, the most prestigious award in world football, 5 times (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017), has also won FIFA's Best Player award 3 times.
The match on September 24, in which Wales beat Portugal 1-0 in the Nations League football tournament, was the last game Ronaldo played for the Portugal team. Portugal coach Jesus said at a press conference that there were no plans to field Ronaldo in the starting eleven in the next match.
Upset at not being played in the match against Norway, Ronaldo left Portugal’s national camp on September 30. He issued a statement saying that Jesus had broken his trust and that he would apologize to his teammates and the people of Portugal for leaving the team.
On the other hand, Jesus said that the Portugal team would always welcome Ronaldo, and that returning to the team would depend on Ronaldo’s decision. As this issue remained unresolved, Ronaldo has now announced his retirement decision.
The Portuguese Football Federation, which has issued a statement praising Ronaldo, said that it plans to hold a farewell match for Ronaldo, just as it did for Messi. Ronaldo, who has retired from the national team, will now play club matches for Al Nassr. It is said that he may also retire from club-level competition after this season.
Cristiano Ronaldo: The day has come to hand back the Portugal national team’s No. 7 jersey. I never thought that number belonged to me alone. But I was given the responsibility and honor of wearing a jersey bearing that number for the past 23 years. I carried it across the world. Now the moment has come to pass that number on to the next generation. This is a difficult decision. Because some decisions have to be made not only with the mind, but also with the heart. This journey, which began in August 2003 and changed the course of my life, is now coming to an end.
Achievements reached by Ronaldo alone at the international level
234 - The only player to have played the most matches for the national team in international football.
146 - The only player to have scored the most goals for the national team in international football.
6 - The only player to have scored in the most FIFA World Cup editions (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026).
10 - The only player to have scored the most hat-tricks in international football.
48 - The only player to have scored against 48 different teams in international football.
14 - The only player to have scored the most goals in the European Championship (14 in total).
11 - The Portuguese player with the most goals in World Cup matches.
