Ronaldo retires, ending legendary career

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

The 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 a 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 long 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."

While long-time adjacent Lionel Messi finished his career with Argentina aft a overmuch anticipated farewell lucifer past month, Ronaldo's last quality with Portugal has ended up being connected Sept. 24 successful a 1-0 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."

Like Messi, Ronaldo volition support playing astatine nine level, and is expected to decorativeness his nine vocation astatine the extremity of this play with Al-Nassr successful Saudi Arabia.

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

Ronaldo became the archetypal subordinate successful his athletics to reach billionaire status, joining the ranks of the wealthiest athletes, Bloomberg reported in October 2025.. 

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• Cristiano Ronaldo
• Soccer