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Ronaldo bids farewell to Portugal after 23 years with national team
Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo announced in a farewell letter posted on social media that he was ending his 23-year career with the national team. The 41-year-old footballer leaves as the top male scorer in international football history, with 146 goals in 234 appearances.
The Turkiye Times Editorial DeskUpdated:
Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo announced that he was ending his career with the Portugal national team. In a video of nearly five minutes posted on his Instagram account on Thursday morning, the 41-year-old player read aloud a farewell letter to the Portuguese people and added the note, "Portugal will always be in me."
Ronaldo made 234 appearances over 23 years after first wearing the national shirt in August 2003. He leaves as the top scorer in the history of men’s international football, with 146 goals. As captain, he led Portugal to the 2016 European Championship and two UEFA Nations League titles.
The farewell video opens with an image of the No. 7 shirt hanging in the dressing room and continues with archive footage of Ronaldo’s most memorable moments with the national team. Beginning with the words, "The day has come to return our national team’s No. 7 shirt," Ronaldo thanked his teammates, coaching staffs, family and Portuguese people around the world.
The decision follows the Jorge Jesus dispute
Sky Sports reported that the farewell decision came after Ronaldo’s falling-out with head coach Jorge Jesus during the previous international break. Ronaldo remained on the bench in Portugal’s 2-1 away win over Norway on September 27 and subsequently left the squad before the Nations League match against Denmark in Copenhagen. In a statement at the beginning of October, he said he had not retired from the national team and that he had written a farewell letter to the Portuguese people after the 2026 World Cup, keeping it for the day he would leave the national team.
"To the Portuguese people": Ronaldo’s farewell letter
Ronaldo read the following letter in the video:
"To the Portuguese people,
The day has come to return our national team’s No. 7 shirt. I never thought that shirt belonged only to me. But for 23 years, I carried the privilege and responsibility of wearing it, defending it and taking it to stadiums around the world. Today, it is time to entrust it to the future.
It was not an easy decision. Because some decisions are made not only with the mind, but also with the heart. The journey that began in August 2003 and changed my life forever has now come to an end.
When I look back at everything I experienced with the national team, I do not see only the matches, goals, records or trophies. I see people. I see Portuguese people living abroad who felt a little closer to home for 90 minutes. I see millions of people I have never met but who became part of my life. Because football is ultimately much more than a game; football is about people.
Throughout my national team career, I always pushed my limits. I wanted to win, improve and make history. I always demanded the best and more from myself; I always believed we could go further. And I gave everything I had for this shirt.
We experienced perfect nights and won victories I will never forget. There were also defeats that still hurt to remember. I made mistakes and suffered. There were moments when I could not give the Portuguese people what they wanted so much. But I never gave up and, above all, I never lost my pride in representing Portugal.
The years have taught me a few very simple things: Goals are forgotten, trophies go into museums and records are broken sooner or later. But there is one thing time can never erase: the place we earn in people’s hearts. If I made you happy even once, if a goal I scored made you hug someone, forget one of your troubles or feel proud of our country, then it was all worth it. Because being Portuguese is also about this: We suffer together, rise together and believe again.
Portugal will always need young people who dare to dream, players who never give up and new generations who believe it is possible to go where no one has gone before. Because a country that constantly produces new heroes is a country that never stops believing in itself.
To my teammates: Thank you for every run, every embrace, every argument and every silence before taking the field. Thank you for every victory we celebrated together and every defeat that made us stronger. I had the privilege of being your captain, but no captain walks alone; you will always be part of my story.
Thank you to all the coaches, executives, doctors, physiotherapists, kit managers and staff members I worked alongside over the years. Many of you appeared in none of the photographs, but without you, none of those photographs would exist.
To my family: Thank you for sharing this dream with me and for understanding my absences and sacrifices. If I have come this far, it is because we always walked hand in hand.
And to every Portuguese person, wherever you are in the world: There is one image I will carry with me for the rest of my life. The moment our national anthem begins... I look around and see my teammates, the stands, children, mothers, fathers, grandfathers and grandmothers, Portuguese people who have come from far away simply to be there. For those few minutes, all our differences disappear. Clubs, colors, classes, professions and disagreements no longer matter. One passion remains: Portugal.
Today, my journey on the field with the national team comes to an end. I leave with my head held high, proud of the path I have taken and knowing that I gave everything I had for Portugal. But I will never stop being one of you; I will continue to share your excitement, joy and celebrations with every Portuguese victory.
I spent my life working to become the best player in the world. Today, I understand that my greatest victory was earning the right to represent the best country in the world.
Thank you for these 23 years, for believing in me and for allowing me to live the dream of a little boy chasing a ball in Madeira.
The No. 7 shirt will remain here. But the pride of having worn it will stay with me forever. Portugal will always be in me.
Forever.
Cristiano Ronaldo"
Milestones from 23 years
Ronaldo first wore the national shirt on August 20, 2003, in a friendly against Kazakhstan, at the age of 18. A year later, the young star was seen in tears after hosts Portugal lost to Greece in the final of Euro 2004. In 2016, he became the captain who lifted the European Championship trophy in Paris. Under his leadership, Portugal also won the UEFA Nations League in 2019 and 2025.
Ronaldo became the top male scorer in international football history in 2021, surpassing Iranian Ali Daei’s record of 109 goals. He leaves with his tally at 146. The star, who played at six European Championships and six World Cups, also tops the list of male players with the most appearances for a national team.
Video: Cristiano Ronaldo / Instagram. Photos: social media
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