Cristiano Ronaldo announces his retirement from the Portugal national team

Cristiano Ronaldo He announced this Thursday his retirement from the Portuguese national team at the age of 41. He did so through a video of about five minutes in which he communicated his decision, recalled what he experienced with the national team and thanked the different actors who have been part of his career.

His departure comes after taking some time to reflect and after the incident he had with his coach, Jorge Jesuslast September. Cristiano then abandoned the concentration of Portugal after getting angry for having warmed up for half an hour in the match against Norway without getting to play.

All this led to an exchange of accusations between the two. Cristiano was sanctioned with a 30-day suspension, which he has already served, and a 255-euro fine.

The coach finally left the decision to return in the hands of the player but Christian has put an end to a stage that began in 2003 and in which he has played 234 games and 146 goals.

In that period he has won three titles: Euro 2016 and Nations League 2018-19 and 2024-2025. In addition, he has played in six World Cups, scoring a total of 11 goals in all of them, something that no other footballer has achieved.

The words of Cristiano Ronaldo

“To the Portuguese: the day has come to return the number ‘7’ jersey of the national team to all of us. I never felt it was exclusively mine. But for 23 years I had the privilege and responsibility of wearing it, of defending it and of taking it with me to stadiums around the world. Today the time has come to hand it over to the future. It is not an easy decision, because there are decisions that are not made only with the head, but also with the heart.

It ends a journey that began in August 2003 and changed my life forever. When I look back and think about everything I experienced in the national team, I don’t just see games, goals, records or trophies. I see people. I see immigrants who, for ninety minutes, felt Portugal a little closer. I see millions of Portuguese people whom I never met personally, but who were part of my life.

Because, at the end of the day, football is much more than a game. Football is people. Throughout my entire career in the National Team, I sought to overcome my limits. I wanted to win, I wanted to be the best, I wanted to make history. I was always demanding of myself.

I always wanted more, I always believed we could go further. And I gave everything I had for this shirt. There were perfect afternoons and nights, there were victories that I will never forget, there were defeats that I still have a hard time remembering today. I also failed, I also suffered. There were times when I was not able to give the Portuguese what they wanted so much. But I never gave up. And, above all, I never stopped feeling proud to represent Portugal.

Throughout these years, I learned very simple things. Goals happen, trophies stay in museums, records end up being broken. But there is something that time can never erase: the place we occupy in people’s hearts. If I ever made you happy, if a goal of mine ever made you hug someone, forget a worry or feel pride in our country, it was all worth it. Because being Portuguese is also that. We suffer together, we rise together, let’s dream again!

Portugal It will always need young people who dream, players who never give up, new generations who believe that it is possible to go where no one has gone. Because a country that can create new heroes is a country that will never stop dreaming.

I want to leave a special word to my teammates on the national team: thank you for every sprint, for every hug, for every discussion, for every silence before entering the field, for every victory we celebrated together and for every defeat that made us stronger. I had the privilege of being your captain, but no captain walks alone and you have been part of my story.

To all the coaches, leaders, doctors, physiotherapists, props, officials and so many people who have worked with me over the years, thank you very much. Many of you never appeared in the photographs, but without you none of those photographs would have been possible.

To my family, thank you for having lived this dream with me. Thank you for understanding the absences, the sacrifices and the moments in which the team had to occupy a space that also belonged to you. If I got this far, it was because we were always hand in hand.

And to the Portuguese, to all the Portuguese spread throughout the world, I want to say one last thing. There is an image that I will always carry with me: the moment when the national anthem begins. I look to my sides, I see my teammates, I see the stands, I see children, mothers, fathers and grandparents, I see Portuguese people who came from so far to be there. And during those minutes we stopped being different. There are no clubs, there are no colors, there are no classes, there are no professions, there are no opinions; there is a passion: Portugal. That is the feeling I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

Today my journey on the field with the national team ends. I leave with my head held high, with pride in the path I took and with the awareness that I gave everything I had for Portugal. But I will never stop being one of you. I will continue to suffer, vibrate and celebrating each victory of Portugal with a ‘Siuuuuuu’!“.

Today I realize that the greatest victory was having deserved 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 child in the forest chasing a ball. The number ‘7’ shirt stays. The pride of having dressed her will be mine forever. Portugal will always be in me. See you forever, Cristiano Ronaldo.