Cristiano Ronaldo introduced his retirement from the Portugal nationwide group on 5 November, publishing a farewell letter on his private social media. The announcement got here at some point earlier than Portugal named their squad for the ultimate two UEFA Nations League matches of the 2026-27 season.
Ronaldo made his worldwide debut on 20 August 2003 on the age of 18. He went on to seem 234 instances for Portugal, scoring 146 targets and offering 45 assists. Each the caps complete and the targets tally are world information for worldwide soccer.
A farewell letter to Portugal
In his letter, Ronaldo wrote that the time had come to return the Portugal quantity 7 shirt to the longer term. He stated he by no means felt the shirt belonged solely to him, however that for 23 years he had the honour and the duty to put on it, defend it, and carry it to pitches all over the world.
He mirrored on the immigrants who felt nearer to Portugal throughout these 90 minutes, and on the thousands and thousands of Portuguese individuals who turned a part of his life with out ever assembly him. He wrote that targets fade with time, trophies find yourself in museums, and information are finally damaged, however that what time can by no means erase is the place an individual holds in folks’s hearts.
Ronaldo additionally addressed his teammates instantly, thanking them for each run, each embrace, each argument, each silence earlier than kick-off, each shared victory, and each defeat that made them stronger. He closed by writing that Portugal would all the time be in his coronary heart.
Honours, a dispute and a ban
Throughout his worldwide profession Ronaldo helped Portugal win the 2016 European Championship and the UEFA Nations League in each 2019 and 2025. His ultimate look for the nationwide group was on 25 September, when he began in opposition to Wales in a Nations League fixture and performed 67 minutes.
He was named within the squad for the following match in opposition to Norway however didn’t play. He then left the coaching camp earlier than a match in opposition to Denmark, saying supervisor Jorge Jesus had damaged a promise to him greater than as soon as. After leaving the camp he was suspended for 30 days and fined 255 euros. The suspension ended on 30 October.
Reactions from China and past
Former Manchester United teammate Dong Fangzhuo stated the retirement was sudden however inevitable on condition that Ronaldo is 41. He argued that from a sporting perspective the departure might give Portugal’s youthful gamers extra room to develop, however warned that the industrial problem could be vital. Dong stated Ronaldo had been Portugal’s most recognisable world model for greater than 20 years, and that the sponsorship cash his profile attracted had lengthy funded the nationwide group’s operations, youth growth, and grassroots soccer.
CCTV commentator He Wei paid tribute in a video, saying that 23 years can move in a short time and that you simply solely realise it when it’s over. He recalled first seeing Ronaldo carry out his step-over on tv shortly after beginning work, and described him as a boy from Madeira who turned the assumption of different kids. He Wei stated that in youth he really believed that form of ardour would by no means finish, and that in center age he understood these had been fragments of a youth that would by no means return.
Ryanair reposted the retirement information on social media with the one phrase ‘Lastly’. Portuguese media additionally reported {that a} drone-show video circulating on-line, purportedly displaying a tribute show over Funchal Bay in Madeira, was generated by synthetic intelligence and didn’t correspond to any actual occasion.
