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- November 8, 20267°
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Ronaldo retires from international football as men's all-time top scorer
Al Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo has announced his retirement from international football after 23 years and 146 goals made him the all-time leading scorer in men's international football. In a filmed farewell message addressed to the Portuguese people, he said his country would “always need young people who dream,” adding that the No. 7 shirt would remain and that “Portugal will always be inside me.”
Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, captain of Saudi club Al Nassr, announced his retirement from international football on Thursday, Nov. 5, ending a 23-year career with his country that began with his first appearance in the national shirt in August 2003. He made the announcement in an extended video posted to his Instagram account, in which he read aloud a farewell message addressed “to the Portuguese people.”
Ronaldo leaves the national team as the all-time leading scorer in men's international football with 146 goals and the most-capped men's international player, with 234 appearances, according to Portuguese newspaper Record and CNN. He led Portugal to its first continental title at UEFA Euro 2016, followed by Nations League titles in 2019 and 2025.
In the nearly five-minute video, Ronaldo appears seated with a sheet of paper in front of him as he reads his message. Images from his international career play in sequence: the No. 7 shirt hanging in the dressing room, crowds of fans in stadiums and streets, moments during the national anthem and the team lifting the Nations League trophy. His words are accompanied in the background by “O Amor a Portugal” (Love of Portugal), a song by Portuguese singer Dulce Pontes, according to Maisfutebol. Ronaldo begins by declaring that the day has come to return the No. 7 shirt “to all of our national team,” and ends with the words: “Portugal will always be inside me.”
A message to the new generations
The all-time top scorer's message did not focus solely on numbers and titles. Instead, he played down their importance compared with what remains in people's memories, writing that “goals pass, trophies settle in museums, and records are eventually broken,” while time cannot erase “the place we hold in people's hearts.”
Ronaldo directed his clearest message at future generations, saying that Portugal “will always need young people who dream, and players who never give up,” and that “a country that keeps producing new champions is a country that never stops believing in itself.” With the words “the No. 7 shirt remains,” he handed on the number associated with his name to whoever comes next, adding that the pride of wearing it “will remain mine forever.”
The full message
Below is the message as Ronaldo read it in the video, translated from Portuguese:
“To the Portuguese people,
Today is the day I return the No. 7 shirt to all of our national team. I never felt that it belonged only to me, but for 23 years I had the privilege of wearing it and the responsibility of defending it and carrying it with me onto pitches around the world. Today, the time has come to hand it over to the future. The decision was not easy, because some decisions are not made with the mind alone, but with the heart as well.
Today, a journey that began in August 2003 and changed my life forever comes to an end. When I look back and recall everything I experienced with the national team, I do not see only matches, goals, records and titles. I see people. I see migrants who, for 90 minutes, felt that Portugal had become a little closer to them. I see millions of Portuguese people I never met, but who were part of my life. At the end of the day, football is much more than just a game. Football is people.
Throughout my career with the national team, I sought to push beyond my limits. I wanted to win, I wanted to be the best, and I wanted to make history. I was always demanding of myself, I always wanted more, and I always believed that we could go further. I gave everything I had for this shirt.
I experienced perfect days and nights, victories I will never forget, and defeats that still hurt when I remember them today. I also made mistakes, I also suffered, and there were moments when I could not give the Portuguese people what they so deeply wanted. But I never gave up, and above all, I never stopped feeling proud to represent Portugal.
Over these years, I learned some very simple things: goals pass, trophies settle in museums, and records are eventually broken. But there is something time can never erase: the place we hold in people's hearts. If I ever made you happy, if one of my goals made you hug someone, forget a worry or feel proud of our country, then everything was worth it. Because this is also what it means to be Portuguese: we suffer together, rise together and believe again.
Portugal will always need young people who dream, players who never give up, and new generations who believe it is possible to reach places no one has reached before. A country that keeps producing new champions is a country that never stops believing in itself.
To my teammates in the national team, I would like to say a special word: thank you for every run, every embrace, every argument and every moment of silence before stepping onto the pitch. Thank you for every victory we celebrated together and every defeat that made us stronger. I had the honor of being your captain, but no captain walks alone. You are part of my story.
To all the coaches, administrators, doctors, physiotherapists, equipment managers and staff, and to the many others who worked with me over these years: thank you. Many of you never appeared in these images, but none of them would have been possible without you.
To my family: thank you for sharing this dream with me, for understanding my absences and sacrifices, and the moments when the national team had to occupy space that also belonged to you. If I have come this far, it is because we were always hand in hand.
And to the Portuguese people, to all Portuguese people spread across the world, I want to tell you one last thing. There is one image I will always carry with me: the moment when the national anthem begins to play. I look around and see my teammates, the stands, children, mothers, fathers and grandparents. I see Portuguese people who came from very distant places simply to be there. During those minutes, there are no longer any differences between us. No clubs, no colors, no classes, no professions and no opinions. There is only one passion: Portugal.
This is the feeling I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Today, my journey on the pitch with the national team comes to an end. I leave with my head held high, proud of the path I took and aware that I gave everything I had for Portugal. But I will never stop being one of you, and I will continue, as I always have, to suffer, feel and celebrate every victory for Portugal.
I spent my life working to become the best player in the world, and today I realize that my greatest victory was earning the right to represent the best country in the world. Thank you for these 23 years. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for allowing me to live a dream that began when I was just a little boy in Madeira running after a ball.
The No. 7 shirt remains, but the pride of wearing it will remain mine forever. Portugal will always be inside me.
Forever,
Cristiano Ronaldo”
A message written after the World Cup
The message was not written on the spur of the moment. Ronaldo revealed in a statement issued on Oct. 6 that he had written a message to the Portuguese people after the 2026 World Cup and was keeping it for the day he finally left the national team, according to British broadcaster Sky Sports. He said Pedro Proença, president of the Portuguese Football Federation, persuaded him during the return flight from North America to postpone his retirement at that time.
The statement came after a dispute with coach Jorge Jesus during the previous international break. Ronaldo remained on the bench without playing in the 2-1 away win over Norway on Sept. 27, then left the national team camp in Copenhagen on the eve of the Nations League match against Denmark, saying at the time that he had no intention of retiring. His latest announcement comes one day before Jesus was due to reveal his squad for the upcoming Nations League matches, according to Record. The Portuguese federation bid him farewell with a message that read: “Thank you for everything, captain!”
His career continues with Al Nassr
Ronaldo continues his career with Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, where he wears the captain's armband. In the league's 12th round, he scored a hat-trick in his team's 5-3 victory over Al-Kholood, his first in 908 days, raising his professional career tally to 985 goals and leaving him 15 short of the 1,000 mark.
Ronaldo said in an interview with Vogue last August: “This is probably my last year in football,” hinting at retirement when his contract with Al Nassr expires next summer, according to UAE newspaper The National. With the national-team chapter closed, the all-time leading scorer in men's international football will focus on the remainder of his career with the Saudi club.
Video: Cristiano Ronaldo / Instagram. Photos: Social media and Wikimedia Commons (Ludovic Peron, CC BY-SA 3.0)
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