Cristiano Ronaldo’s days of being the face of Portugal’s national soccer team are over. The 41-year-old announced his retirement from international play on Thursday.
No soccer player has made more appearances or scored more goals for his country. Ronaldo played in 234 games, scoring 146 goals in international play.
“The day has come for me to hand back the No. 7 shirt of our national team,” Ronaldo said in a video announcement on Thursday. “I never thought it belonged to me alone. But for 23 years, I had the privilege and the responsibility of wearing it.”
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The Portuguese soccer federation said in a statement that it would honor Ronaldo with “due tribute” during its upcoming matches.
Ronaldo did not lead his nation to a World Cup title, but Portugal did win the European Championship in 2016.
“For me, [it] has the same value as the World Cup, honestly,” he told reporters during this summer’s World Cup, during which Portugal lost to Spain in the round of 16.
Ronaldo’s international resume lacks a World Cup title. But Portugal never made it to the World Cup final before him, either. The nation’s best result came with a third-place finish in 1966. Portugal didn’t return to the competition for 20 years after that.
With Ronaldo, the Portuguese became a perennial contender. He became the first man to score in six World Cups, with his deepest run arriving with a quarterfinal loss in 2022.
But Ronaldo added a pair of UEFA Nations League championships to accompany the European title in 2016.
“There were perfect afternoons and nights. There were victories I will never forget. There were defeats that still hurt to remember,” Ronaldo said. “I made mistakes. I suffered. There were also moments when I couldn’t give the Portuguese people what they so desperately wanted. But I never gave up, I never stopped feeling proud to represent Portugal.”
On Thursday, he said of his retirement, “It was not an easy decision, because there are decisions that are not made only with the head. They are also made with the heart. If I ever made you happy, if one of my goals ever made you hug someone, forget a worry or feel proud of our country, then it was all worth it.”
Ronaldo and Portugal ended a decades-long relationship with a messy split. The superstar did not initially plan to retire after the World Cup. He attended a training camp led by new coach Jorge Jesus in September ahead of the UEFA Nations League.
Reports indicated that Jesus planned to use Ronaldo off the bench. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner didn’t appreciate that notion.
“It seems like there was an issue between us, but there was no issue,” Jesus told reporters at the time. “I’m the one who makes the decisions and everybody knows that.”
Despite the seemingly acrimonious split, Jesus later said that Ronaldo would be welcomed back to the national team if he decided to return.
“Cristiano Ronaldo has raised Portugal’s profile and inspired generations of young people who dream of following in his footsteps; for many of us, he is the greatest player of all time!” the Portuguese soccer federation said in its Thursday statement.
Former teammates and rivals turned out to pay tribute to Ronaldo on social media.
“Thank you for the inspiration,” Bruno Fernandes, a Portuguese player for Manchester United, wrote. “It was a great privilege to share great moments in the national team with my childhood idol.”
Neymar, a Brazilian star who never played on the same team as Ronaldo, was even more succinct.
“Lenda,” he wrote in a one-word tribute, meaning “legend” in Portuguese.
Ronaldo has not stepped away from the pitch entirely. He continues to play for Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr FC, where he has built his career goals to 985.
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