Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal national team farewell, Digi Mart USA News: Cristiano Ronaldo has set records on a continuous basis throughout an extraordinary career. Now Portugal intends to give the football icon a worthy farewell from the national team.
The 41-year-old footballer from the Portuguese island of Madeira announced on Thursday that he is retiring from the national team after 23 years. The Portuguese Football Federation expressed its deepest and everlasting gratitude to the “eternal captain” in a farewell letter.
The federation described Ronaldo as far more than a world-class player. “He was an inspiring leader, a role model for dedication, and the foremost symbol of the soul of our national team,” the letter states.
Over more than two decades on football’s biggest stage, Ronaldo has written his name into the history books, both with the national team and at club level. Only his longtime rival Lionel Messi has been able to measure up to Ronaldo as a goalscorer.
The federation shared an X video with clips from Ronaldo’s national team career, accompanied by the text “A story that lasts forever. Thank you for everything, captain.” The letter adds: “For many of us, he is the greatest football player of all time!”
The federation stresses that Ronaldo’s farewell should not go unnoticed and expresses a strong desire to arrange a dignified farewell for the football icon.
Ronaldo’s club career includes spells at Sporting Lisbon (2002-03), Manchester United (2003-09 and 2021-22), Real Madrid (2009-18) and Juventus (2018-21). With Manchester United he won three Premier League titles, the Champions League (2007/08), the Club World Cup (2008), the FA Cup (2003/04) and two League Cup titles.
With Real Madrid he won two La Liga titles, four Champions League trophies and two Copa del Rey titles. With Juventus he won two Serie A titles and the Coppa Italia (2020/21).
Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017. He led Portugal to victory at Euro 2016 and has scored in six World Cup finals tournaments, with eleven World Cup goals.
He is the all-time top scorer at the European Championship with 14 goals.
For Portugal, he has played 234 matches and scored 146 goals, making him the all-time leading scorer among men’s national team players. His first international goal came as a 19-year-old in the Euro 2004 opener against Greece, and his last came from a penalty against Croatia at the 2026 World Cup finals.
He made his debut as an 18-year-old in a friendly against Kazakhstan in 2003, and his final appearance came against Wales in September. No men’s player has more international caps than his 234.
Ronaldo scored a combined 140 goals for Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus in the Champions League and lifted the trophy five times. In the 2013/14 season he set the record for most goals in a single Champions League season with 17.
He scored 16 goals two seasons later. Robert Lewandowski (2019/20), Karim Benzema (2021/22) and Kylian Mbappé (2025/26) are the nearest challengers.
At Real Madrid, Ronaldo holds the club’s all-time scoring record with 451 goals in 438 matches over nine seasons. Karim Benzema, with 354 goals in 648 matches, is the nearest challenger.
Ronaldo also holds the record for most goals at European Championship finals, with 14 across six tournaments. Michel Platini, with nine goals for France, is the nearest challenger.
Ronaldo has also scored for Portugal in more consecutive calendar years than any other player: 23 years since his first international goal in 2004. Lionel Messi is the nearest challenger with 21 calendar years from 2006 to 2026.
