Cristiano Ronaldo retires from international football after 23 years with Portugal

Cristiano Ronaldo has retired from international football, ending a 23-year Portugal career with a five-minute video address published on his social media accounts in which he formally relinquished the national team’s number seven shirt.

“To the Portuguese people, the day has come for me to hand back the number seven shirt of our national team,” Ronaldo said in the speech. “I never felt it belonged to me alone. But for 23 years, I had the privilege and the responsibility of wearing it, defining it, and carrying it with me into stadiums all around the world.”

The announcement brings the curtain down on one of international football’s most decorated careers. Ronaldo made his senior Portugal debut in 2003 and went on to become the country’s all-time leading appearance-maker and record goalscorer, finishing as the top scorer in the history of men’s international football.

His international honours include the UEFA Euro 2016 title, when Portugal defeated France in the final in Paris, and the inaugural UEFA Nations League trophy in 2019. He also captained Portugal at five FIFA World Cups, a run that ended without the one major trophy that eluded him throughout his career.

Ronaldo, who continues to play club football for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, chose a personal video message rather than a formal press conference to deliver the news, underscoring the emotional weight of the decision. The speech, released across his social media platforms, was widely shared within minutes of publication.