Ronaldo Retires From International Football

Cristiano Ronaldo announced his retirement from international football after a 23-year career with Portugal, where he made a record 234 appearances and scored a record 146 goals. He helped Portugal reach the Euro 2004 final and 2006 World Cup semi-finals, then captained the team to the 2016 European Championship and Nations League titles in 2019 and 2025. In his farewell, Ronaldo called representing Portugal the greatest privilege of his career and said it was time to pass on the No. 7 shirt; reports linked his decision to tensions with coach Jorge Jesus after he was left out of a match. Ronaldo remains in pursuit of 1,000 career goals: a 15-minute hat-trick in Al-Nassr’s 5-3 win over Al-Kholood reportedly brought his total to 985. The tally is disputed because the Saudi Pro League credited him with a header against Al-Faisaly while Opta recorded it as an own goal.