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Cristiano Ronaldo retires from international football after 234 games and 146 goals for Portugal
The 41-year-old captain announced in a video on Thursday that he is handing back the No. 7 shirt, weeks after a bitter row with coach Jorge Jesus over playing time.
Key points
- Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, retired from the Portugal team on Thursday in a video message.
- He leaves with a record 234 caps and 146 goals, the most by any man in international football.
- The exit follows a 30-day suspension after he walked out over a row with coach Jorge Jesus.
Cristiano Ronaldo has retired from international football, ending 23 years with Portugal in a long video message on Thursday, November 5, 2026, in which the 41-year-old captain said he was handing back the No. 7 shirt.
“To the Portuguese people, the day has come to hand back the number seven shirt of the national team that belongs to us all,” he said. “It was not an easy decision.”
He goes with 234 caps and 146 goals, both records. No man has scored more in international football. He led Portugal to their only major title at Euro 2016, then to the first UEFA Nations League in 2019 and to a second in 2025. The one prize missing is the World Cup, which he played this summer for a record sixth time.
A farewell after a fallout
The timing is not hard to read. Ronaldo walked out of the squad during the last international window after a dispute with coach Jorge Jesus over his playing time. Earlier he had been left on the bench for the whole of a 2-1 win in Norway on October 4, the first time in 18 years he was an unused substitute for his country. The Portuguese federation suspended him for 30 days, a ban he has only just finished.
Ronaldo later said sorry to his teammates for leaving, but not to Jesus, whom he accused of breaking promises about how much he would play. The two know each other well: Jesus coached him at Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia before taking the Portugal job. His last game for Portugal was a 1-0 win over Wales on September 24.
The video made no mention of the row. Instead Ronaldo spoke of the people who had followed him. “Goals come and go, trophies end up in museums, and records are eventually broken,” he said. “No captain walks alone and you’re all part of my story.” In a short post he added, in Portuguese, that Portugal will always be in him.
Tributes pour in
The Portuguese Football Federation said it would hold a tribute to its most famous player. “Cristiano Ronaldo has raised Portugal’s profile and inspired generations of young people,” it said. “For many of us, he is the greatest player of all time!” It signed off with a nod to his next target: “Let’s go for goal number 1,000!!!”
His old clubs Manchester United, Sporting and Juventus also paid tribute.
What comes next
Ronaldo will keep playing for Al-Nassr, which he is expected to leave at the end of the season. He has 985 career goals for club and country, so the 1,000 mark is within reach without the national team.
Portugal move on quickly. Jesus is due on Friday to name his squad for the Nations League matches against Denmark and Wales, his first since the captain’s goodbye.