“The day has come” – Cristiano Ronaldo announces Portugal retirement with emotional video message
Cristiano Ronaldo has announced his decision to retire from international duty with Portugal after a legendary 23 years representing his country.
The 41-year-old Al Nassr forward recently had a falling-out with Portugal manager Jorge Jesus as he left the national team camp after being an unused substitute in a game against Norway.
It now seems Ronaldo has kicked his last ball for Portugal, and his retirement from international football follows the recent decision from Lionel Messi to do the same.
It truly is the end of an era as these two greats will now no longer play international football, while their retirement from football overall surely can’t be too far away either.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s emotional statement on Portugal retirement
See the video below for Ronaldo’s message, which has already been watched by millions and shared tens of thousands of times on X alone…
Portugal estará sempre em mim pic.twitter.com/dnFj51rxmh
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) November 5, 2026
“To the Portuguese people, the day has come for me to hand back the number seven shirt of our national team,” Ronaldo said, as quoted by BBC Sport.
“I never felt it belonged to me alone, but for 23 years I had the privilege and responsibility of wearing it, defending it and carrying it with me into stadiums all around the world.
“Today the time has come to pass it on to the future. It was not an easy decision, because some decisions are not made with the mind alone – they are also made with the heart.
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“A journey that began in August 2003 and changed my life forever has come to an end.”
Ronaldo ends his Portugal career with a stunning 146 goals in 324 caps, whilst leading his country to glory at Euro 2016.
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrating Portugal’s Euro 2016 win (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
What next for Cristiano Ronaldo?
Ronaldo is still chasing 1000 career goals, and in all likelihood he will get there pretty soon.
The veteran forward is now on 985 total career goals, and he remains a star performer in the Saudi Pro League, so shouldn’t have too much trouble making it to that remarkable milestone that he’s coveted so much.
Ronaldo will turn 42 in February, though, so we are surely now witnessing the end of his incredible playing career, during which he’s established himself as one of the very best players of all time.
Messi is also now 39 and still going strong in the MLS with Inter Miami, but it will be interesting to see how much longer he can carry on too, and if he’ll have a realistic shot at matching Ronaldo’s overall career goal record.
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