Cristiano Ronaldo announced his retirement from international soccer with Portugal on Thursday, although he plans to continue his more than two decade-long career and quest for 1,000 lifetime goals with Saudi club team Al-Nassr.
Ronaldo, ranked by Forbes as the first athlete to surpass $2 billion in career earnings, pointed to a different number when announcing his retirement in a five-minute video on YouTube.
“To the Portuguese people, the day has come for me to hand back the No. 7 shirt of our national team,” Ronaldo said, reading from a prepared statement. “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.”
Ronaldo, 41, has 146 goals in 234 games for Portugal, both records in men’s international soccer. He has 985 lifetime goals, including 450 with Read Madrid, 145 with Manchester United, 138 with Al-Nassr, 101 with Juventus and five with Sporting CP.
His retirement comes one month after another international soccer icon — Lionel Messi — called it quits after playing in his 208th match for Argentina 2026, scoring his 126th goal and providing two assists in a 3-0 friendly win against Benin in Buenos Aires.
Sadly for Ronaldo and his followers, his exit comes with decidedly less jubilation.
The Portugal captain of the last 18 years served a 30-day suspension ordered by the country’s soccer federation after he walked away from the team Oct. 1, upset that new manager Jorge Jesus didn’t play him in a Nations League victory over Norway in which his replacement, Gonçalo Ramos, scored the winning goal.
“In due time, I will tell all the Portuguese about the reasons that motivated my departure from the national team, which I always dedicated myself to,” Ronaldo posted on social media shortly after walking out. “Now it’s time to wish good luck to Portugal and all my teammates, without exception.”
A week later, however, Ronaldo apologized to his teammates for walking out and expressed his desire to continue playing for the national team. His last appearance came Sept. 24 in a 1-0 win over Wales in a Nations League game in Lisbon. His announcement to retire came one day before Jesus released the roster for upcoming games against Denmark and Wales.
“This is entirely his decision,” Jesus said Thursday. “We already had the opportunity to discuss this before the first squad announcement. I asked him to stay, to carry on with me because I needed him by my side, but I have to accept his decision. He will always be in the hearts of the Portuguese people and in the national team, and there are no two ways about it: He will always be an icon of Portuguese football.”
Ronaldo chose to focus on his Portuguese fans in his statement.
“When I look back at everything I experienced with the national team, I don’t just see matches, goals, records or trophies. I see people,” he said. “I see Portuguese people living abroad who, for 90 minutes, felt a little closer to home. I see millions of Portuguese people I have never met but who became part of my life. Because, at the end of the day, football is so much bigger than a game. Football is about people.”
Ronaldo proved a week ago that he isn’t done playing soccer. He registered a second-half hat trick in the 5-3 Saudi Pro League victory over Al Kholood, taking him to 985 career goals.
“I’ve already admitted that I want to reach (1,000 goals), and I will reach it,” he said in September.