Cristiano Ronaldo retires from Portugal duty after 234 caps and 146 goals

The video landed on Thursday, and Portugal lost its captain. In that Instagram post, Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, announces his international retirement: “The day has come for me to give back the number 7 shirt of the national team,” he wrote, adding that “some decisions are not made only with the head. They are also made with the heart.” Twenty-three years stop at 234 caps and 146 goals, records for Portugal and for men’s international football.

The Seleção honours list fits in three lines: Euro 2016, Nations League titles in 2019 and 2025, six World Cups played from 2006 to 2026, and one man scoring in all six, him. His last match came on 24 September: a 1-0 win over Wales in the Nations League in Lisbon. The World Cup had ended in the round of 16.

A break that had been brewing since September

It started with playing time. The timeline told the ending in advance:

• late September: left on the bench against Norway, he walked out of the squad camp; outlets differ on the date of that match, not on the fact;
• on 30 September, federation president Pedro Proença brought Ronaldo and Jorge Jesus together; the two men have not spoken since;
• on 19 October, a 30-day suspension and a €255 fine;
• on Thursday 5 November, the announcement: Proença had been warned, Jesus had not, according to A Bola, the day before the squad list for Denmark on 14 November and Wales on the 17th.

A farewell without a ceremony

The federation hailed “an example of dedication and the symbol par excellence of the soul of our national team”, going as far as “the best player of all time”. Jesus, speaking on Canal 11, said he had “asked him to stay”: “I have to accept his decision.” In the dressing room, Bruno Fernandes called him “my childhood idol”, Pepe “much more than football”.

He declined the party: Foot Mercato, relaying the daily Observador, reports that he turned down the farewell match offered by the federation; one source so far.

What is left to chase

At Al-Nassr, where The Guardian sees his club career ending after this season, one account stays open: 985 goals in all competitions, fifteen short of the 1,000 mark, with RMC Sport noting a 984-or-985 doubt over the exact count. For the bettor, the international page has turned: the squad list will come without the captain’s name, and it is against Denmark and Wales that the post-Ronaldo Seleção starts to be judged. 18+. Only bet what you can afford to lose.