After 234 years Cristiano Ronaldo says goodbye to Portugal. An announcement that comes after the latest disagreements with coach Jesus and which opens up a new era for the Portuguese national team: “Thank you for believing in me”
Cristiano Ronaldo he said enough, “the day has come to return the number 7 shirt of our national team. I have never felt it exclusively mine. But for 23 years I have had the privilege and responsibility of wearing it, defending it and taking it with me to stadiums all over the world”. Thus began the long and heartfelt open-hearted letter that he unquestionably sanctioned the end of Cr7’s adventure with his national team.
The announcement came today, November 5, twenty-four hours after the list of players who will be called up for Portugal’s last two matches in the Nations League. There is not a single episode behind the choice, but the timing is hard to ignore because it shortly follows the heated clash with the current coach of the Lusitanians, Jorge Jesus.
Cr7’s message is aimed at his people and leaves numbers and records aside
Those expecting a list of trophies were surprised and decidedly disappointed because Ronaldo in his farewell letter he addressed mainly people who in all these years have identified themselves in the Portugal shirt: the emigrants who for 90 minutes felt closer to home, the teammates, the staff members who never appear in the photos, the family who accepted infinite absences and many sacrifices. He says that the shirt has never felt like just “his” and that he wants to remain a fan like the others: “Portugal will always be inside me” is not surprisingly the incipit of the whole thing.
Then he also remembers the difficult moments, the defeats that he still struggles to remember, the times in which he failed to give the Portuguese what they wanted, in a mix of videos and photographs that summarize only part of the 23 years shared in the national team, united by invisible thread of unconditional love for knitting combined with the sense of duty and respect he has always had. It is no coincidence that the image he chooses as the last is that of the anthem before the kick-off: stands, families, children, grandparents, and a single passion.
What happened before the retirement announcement: the problems with Jesus
Ronaldo on September 30th he had left the retreat in Copenhagen on the eve of the match against Denmark, after remaining on the bench in the 2-1 victory over Norway without liking the words of coach Jorge Jesus in the press conference. On 6 October he then issued a letter, apologizing to his teammates and fans, but accusing the coach of not having kept his wordclaiming he warmed up from halftime without ever being called upon. But he also made it clear that he was available to return after the disqualification.
The sanction came from the Portuguese Football Federation with 30 day suspension, retroactivetherefore such as not to prevent him from being available again for the November matches and for this reason his name ended up among the pre-summoned players for the matches against Denmark and Wales. The official list is expected for tomorrow, November 6, but with today’s announcement, the picture definitively changes.
What Cristiano Ronaldo leaves behind and what changes in Portugal after him
Cristiano Ronaldo was the soul, body, mind of Portugal: he leaves with 234 appearances and 146 goals, he is the absolute record holder among the men’s national teams, with the historians successes at the 2016 European Championship and in the 2019 and 2025 Nations League. The last 2026 World Cup, the sixth personal one for him, had already ended in the round of 16 against Spain. But on the day of his farewell, Cr7 erased these numbers from his memory, directing his thoughts solely to his people and the “value” that the Portugal shirt represents.
Yet some questions also remain. The text does not mention farewell matches, while in October he mentioned the possibility of one or more farewell matches and therefore it is not clear whether he will play again even simply in a symbolic way to say goodbye by wearing the national team jersey on the field. At the end of September, after Ronaldo’s departure from the training camp in Copenhagen, number 7 had already ended up on the shoulders of Rafael Leao in the 4-2 win against Denmark. For the attacker, accustomed to the 17, it was the first taste of a number that his idol had worn since 2008, but from today everything changes: the shirt is now completely available.
The full speech of Cristiano Ronaldo’s farewell to the Portuguese national team
“Today the time has come to hand over this shirt to the future. It was not an easy decision, because certain decisions are not only made with the head, but also with the heart. I am closing a journey that began in August 2003 and which changed my life forever. When I think back to everything I experienced with the national team, I don’t just see matches, goals, records or trophies. I see people. I see immigrants who, for 90 minutes, felt Portugal a little closer. I see millions of Portuguese people who I have never met personally, but who have been part of my life. Because at the end of the day, football is much more than just a game. Football is made up of people.”
“Throughout my career in the national team, I tried to overcome my limits. I wanted to win, I wanted to be the best, I wanted to make history. I always pushed myself to the maximum. I always wanted more, I always believed that we could go further. And I gave everything I had for this shirt. There were perfect afternoons and evenings, there were victories that I will never forget, there were defeats that even today I struggle to remember. I too have failed, I too have suffered, there have been moments in which I failed to give the Portuguese people what they so ardently desired. But I never gave up. And above all, I never stopped being proud of representing Portugal.”
“Over the years I have learned some very simple things. Goals come and go, trophies end up in museums, records are broken sooner or later. But there is something that time can never erase. The place we occupy in people’s hearts. If I have ever made you happy, if one of my goals has ever made you hug someone, forget a worry or feel proud of our country, then it was worth it. Because being Portuguese also means this”
“We suffered together, we got up together. We found faith again. Portugal will always need young people who dream. Players who never give up. New generations who believe it is possible to reach goals never achieved before. Because a country that continues to create new heroes is a country that never stops believing in itself.
To my teammates in the national team, I want to say a special word. Thank you for every run, for every hug, for every discussion, for every silence before taking the field. For every victory we celebrated together and for every defeat that made us stronger. I had the privilege of being your captain. But no captain ever walks alone. And you are all part of my story”
“To all the coaches, managers, doctors, physiotherapists, warehouse workers, staff members and all the other people who have worked with me over these years, thank you very much. Many of you do not appear in the photos. But without you, none of these photographs would have been possible. To my family, thank you for sharing this dream with me. Thank you for understanding the absences, the sacrifices and the moments in which the national team had to occupy a space that also belonged to you. If I have come this far, it is because we have always been hand in hand hand”
“And to the Portuguese people, to all the Portuguese around the world, I want to say one last thing. There is an image that I will always carry with me. The moment when the national anthem begins. I look around, I see my teammates, I see the stands, I see children, mothers, fathers and grandparents, I see Portuguese people who have come from so far away just to be there. And in those minutes, we stop being different. There are no clubs, there are no colors, there are no classes, no there are professions, there are no opinions. There is only one passion: Portugal. This is the feeling I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”
“Today I conclude my journey on the field with the national team, I leave with my head held high, proud of the path I have traveled and with the awareness of having given everything for Portugal. But I will never stop being one of you. I will continue to suffer, cheer and celebrate every victory for Portugal together with you. I have dedicated my life to becoming the best player in the world. Today I realize that the greatest victory was to have earned the right to represent the best country in the world.”
“Thank you for these 23 years. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for allowing me to live a dream that began when I was just a child, in Madeira, while chasing a ball. The shirt certifies, the pride of having worn it will be mine forever. Portugal will always be part of me. Forever. Cristiano Ronaldo”