Cristiano Ronaldo retires from Portugal: why football legend finally called time on international career now
Cristiano Ronaldo's focus will now squarely turn to his pursuit of the mythical 1,000 goal milestone through his Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr after officially bringing the curtain down on a world record, extraordinary international career with Portugal. The icon announced overnight that he won't play for Portugal anymore, ending a career that spanned six World Cups and included a European title and the men's all-time international scoring record.
The announcement marked the end of a lauded career that began more than two decades ago, before Euro 2004. The farewell today celebrated a career like none other, a more fitting exit than his last international window, which finished with him walking out on the national team after falling out with coach Jorge Jesus.
"To the Portuguese people, the day has come for me to hand back the No. 7 shirt of our national team," the 41-year-old Ronaldo said in a long video message on social media.
"I never felt it belonged to me alone, but for 23 years I had the privilege and the responsibility of wearing it, defending it and carrying it with me into stadiums all around the world. Today the time has come to pass it on to the future.
It was not an easy decision because some decisions are not made with the mind alone. They are also made with the heart.
A journey that began in August 2003 and changed my life forever has come to an end." While long-time peer Lionel Messi finished his career with Argentina after a much anticipated farewell match last month, Ronaldo's final appearance with Portugal has ended up being on September 24 in a 1-0 win over Wales in the Nations League. Jesus kept him on the bench for the following match and said he didn't plan to start him in the next one, so Ronaldo decided to leave the team's training camp.
Jesus later said Ronaldo would be welcome back and the decision to return was up to him. The Portuguese soccer federation released a statement expressing "deep gratitude and immense admiration" for Ronaldo's service to the country.
"Cristiano Ronaldo has raised Portugal's profile and inspired generations of young people who dream of following in his footsteps; for many of us, he is the greatest player of all time!" the federation said. Cristiano Ronaldo left Portugal's camp before their Nations League game against Denmark.
Like Messi, Ronaldo will keep playing at club level, and is expected to finish his club career at the end of this season with Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.