Cristiano Ronaldo has retired from Portugal. Twenty-three years, 234 games, 146 goals — and one shirt handed back. Here's his Portugal career in 13 frames.
He debuted on August 20, 2003, against Kazakhstan. He was 18, all stepovers and raw pace, and nobody in the stadium that night knew what was coming. Portugal had a new winger. It turned out they had a new era.
A year later came the tears. Portugal hosted Euro 2004 and reached the final on home soil — then lost it to Greece. Ronaldo cried on the pitch that night in Lisbon. He was 19. The hurt stayed with him for 12 years.
Euro 2016, France. Ronaldo went off injured early in the final against the hosts, and watched the rest from the touchline, shouting instructions like a second coach. Éder scored the winner in extra time. Portugal had their first major trophy, and Ronaldo had his.
No man has played at more. Ronaldo appeared at six World Cups, 2006 through 2026, and scored at all six — the first player ever to do it. Eleven World Cup goals in all, a Portugal record. The trophy itself stayed out of reach.
Euro 2016 wasn't a one-off. Portugal won the first Nations League in 2019, then did it again in 2025, with Ronaldo still leading the line at 40. Three international trophies. Before him, Portugal had none.
The No. 7. He wore it for 23 years and made it his own — the shirt kids across Portugal grew up wanting. "The day has come for me to hand back the No. 7 shirt of our national team," he said in his farewell video. "I never felt it was exclusively mine."
He wore the armband for most of it. Captain at four European Championships and four World Cups, the man teammates looked to when a game was slipping away. Love him or not — and plenty did both — Portugal's identity on the pitch was his identity.
146 goals in 234 games. Both are men's world records, and neither is close to falling. He passed Ali Daei's 109 in September 2021, then kept going for five more years. Ten hat-tricks. A goal in every calendar year, 2004 through 2026.
His sixth and final World Cup ended this summer with Portugal's exit to Spain in the round of 16. He had said before the tournament that it would be his last. He meant it. The one trophy that eluded him stays elusive.
The ending was messier than anyone wanted. Told he wouldn't start against Denmark in September, Ronaldo walked out of camp on September 30. A €255 fine and a 30-day suspension followed. Then a bench against Norway — unused for the first time in 18 years. The row with coach Jorge Jesus seems to have settled what the World Cup started.
This is a Portugal goodbye, not a football goodbye. Ronaldo keeps playing for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, where his contract runs until June 2027. He's on 985 career goals, chasing 1,000. "This is probably my last year of football," he told Vogue in August.
Want the quotes, the fallout with Jorge Jesus and what happens to Portugal now? Read our full report: Cristiano Ronaldo retires from Portugal after 23 years, 234 caps and 146 goals