Cristiano Ronaldo announces his international retirement from Portugal

Cristiano Ronaldo won’t play for Portugal anymore, ending connected Thursday a vocation that spanned six World Cups and included a European rubric and the men’s all-time planetary scoring record.

His announcement marked the extremity of a lauded vocation that began much than 2 decades agone earlier Euro 2004 and finished with him walking retired connected the nationalist squad aft falling retired with manager Jorge Jesus.

"To the Portuguese people, the time has travel for maine to manus backmost the No. 7 garment of our nationalist team,” the 41-year-old Ronaldo said successful a agelong video connection connected societal media. "I ne'er felt it belonged to maine unsocial but for 23 years I had the privilege and the work of wearing it, defending it and carrying it with maine into stadiums each astir the world.

“Today the clip has travel to walk it connected to the future. It was not an casual determination due to the fact that immoderate decisions are not made with the caput alone. They are besides made with the heart. A travel that began successful August 2003 and changed my beingness everlastingly has travel to an end.”

Ronaldo volition support playing astatine nine level, which helium is expected to decorativeness astatine the extremity of this play with Al-Nassr successful Saudi Arabia.

He is successful pursuit of his 1,000th vocation extremity and sits connected 985. Of those, a grounds 146 goals came successful 234 appearances with Portugal.

Portugal plans tribute to ‘greatest of each time’

While long-time adjacent Lionel Messi finished his vocation with Argentina past period aft a overmuch anticipated farewell match, Ronaldo’s last quality with Portugal has ended up being connected Sept. 24 successful a 1-0 location triumph implicit Wales successful the Nations League.

Jesus kept him connected the seat for the pursuing lucifer and said helium didn’t program to commencement him successful the adjacent one, truthful Ronaldo decided to permission the team’s grooming camp. Jesus aboriginal said Ronaldo would beryllium invited backmost and the determination to instrumentality was up to him.

The Portuguese shot federation released a connection expressing “deep gratitude and immense admiration” for Ronaldo’s work to the country.

“Cristiano Ronaldo has raised Portugal’s illustration and inspired generations of young radical who imagination of pursuing successful his footsteps; for galore of us, helium is the top subordinate of each time!” the federation said.

It said it intends to signifier a tribute to Ronaldo “in which the fans and the state tin 1 much clip applaud and observe a subordinate who has fixed america truthful much.”

Ronaldo helps Portugal scope caller level

Before Ronaldo debuted for Portugal by replacing Luís Figo successful a 2003 affable against Kazakhstan, Portugal had ne'er won immoderate large trophies.

Then helium and successive generations of talented teammates made Portugal a regular beingness astatine large tournaments.

Portugal won its archetypal large rubric astatine Euro 2016, and the Nations League successful 2019 and 2025.

“Throughout my full vocation with the nationalist team, I ever pushed myself beyond my limits," Ronaldo said. "I wanted to win. I wanted to beryllium better. I wanted to marque history.

“I ever demanded the astir of myself. I ever wanted more. I ever believed we could spell further. And I gave everything I had for this shirt.”

Portugal qualified for the World Cup lone 3 times earlier Ronaldo’s clip — 1966, 1986 and 2002. On his watch, Portugal qualified each azygous time.

The aforesaid was existent for the Euros, which Portugal had played lone 3 times earlier Ronaldo — 1984, 1996 and 2000. After helium arrived it played successful the tourney each time. Portugal was runner-up successful Ronaldo’s Euro debut successful 2004 astatine home.

At the World Cup, Portugal went arsenic acold arsenic 4th spot with Ronaldo, successful his tourney debut successful 2006. It was among the rubric candidates astir each clip aft that, though, with a champion effect a quarterfinal quality successful 2022.

“There were cleanable afternoons and nights. There were victories I volition ne'er forget. There were defeats that inactive wounded to remember” Ronaldo said. “I made mistakes. I suffered. There were besides moments erstwhile I couldn’t springiness the Portuguese radical what they truthful desperately wanted. But I ne'er gave up, I ne'er stopped feeling arrogant to correspond Portugal.”

Portugal’s champion World Cup decorativeness remains 3rd spot successful 1966 with the large Eusébio successful what was the team’s lone World Cup information until 1986.

A vocation of planetary records

Ronaldo was the archetypal antheral to people successful six World Cups. He reached an all-time 11 goals astatine this year’s World Cup, surpassing the erstwhile Portugal grounds of 9 from Eusébio.

He has scored for Portugal successful 23 consecutive calendar years, from 2004-26.

He became the archetypal subordinate to scope 200 men’s planetary appearances, and his 234 appearances stay the astir all-time successful men’s planetary soccer.

Ronaldo besides has the astir Euro appearances with 30, and the astir Euro goals with 14. His archetypal ever planetary extremity came astatine the commencement of Euro 2004, erstwhile big Portugal was runner-up to Greece.

___

AP Sports Writer Daniella Matar successful Milan contributed.

___

See AP’s afloat shot sum here