Cristiano Ronaldo has retired from international football at 41, ending a 23-year Portugal career with a men’s record 234 caps and 146 goals. The announcement followed a dispute with coach Jorge Jesus over playing time and came a day before Jesus was due to name his next squad.
Cristiano Ronaldo has closed his Portugal career with a video rather than a farewell match. In a long message on social media on Thursday, 5 November, he told the Portuguese people that the day had come to hand back the No. 7 shirt of the national team, a shirt he first wore in August 2003.
A career measured in records
The numbers explain why the federation called him the greatest player of all time. Ronaldo, 41, leaves with 234 appearances and 146 goals, both men’s international records, and he was the first player to reach 200 caps. He played at six World Cups and became the first man to score in all six, including at the tournament this summer. He also holds the European Championship records for appearances (30) and goals (14).
Click to Watch Ronaldo’s Retirement Tribute
The trophies came in a run that defined an era. Portugal won Euro 2016 with him as captain and then took the Nations League in 2019 and 2025. The one prize that never arrived was the World Cup.
The dispute that forced the exit
The farewell follows weeks of conflict with coach Jorge Jesus, his former Al Nassr manager, over playing time. Jesus left Ronaldo on the bench for a Nations League match and said he did not plan to start him in the next one, and Ronaldo left the squad’s camp. The federation responded with a 30-day suspension and a fine of €255. In an earlier statement Ronaldo had said he was not retiring and accused Jesus of breaking his word.
His farewell message kept the tension alive. Ronaldo acknowledged that leaving camp was not the best way to handle the situation and apologised to his team-mates, but he did not apologise to Jesus, repeating that the coach had broken promises about his minutes. Jesus, speaking to Portuguese television, said the two had discussed the matter before his first squad announcement and that he had asked Ronaldo to stay. He added that Ronaldo will always be in the hearts of the Portuguese people.
The timing was awkward. The announcement came a day before Jesus was due to name Portugal’s squad for the Nations League games against Denmark and Wales.
Tributes and a club career still running
The Portuguese federation thanked Ronaldo with “deep gratitude and immense admiration” and said it will organise a tribute at a later date. His former clubs Manchester United, Sporting CP and Juventus also paid tribute. The retirement arrives less than a month after Lionel Messi played his last game for Argentina, a 3-0 win over Benin.
Ronaldo’s club career carries on. He will keep playing for Al Nassr, whom he is expected to leave at the end of the season, and he has 985 career goals after a 15-minute hat-trick against Al Kholood. He is chasing 1,000, while Portugal now prepare their first squad without him, due to be named the following day, and a tribute still to be scheduled.
