Cristiano Ronaldo announces his retirement from Portugal duty

Cristiano Ronaldo announced his retirement from international football Thursday in a farewell video published on his social accounts. The 41-year-old’s announcement comes after 234 appearances and 146 goals for Portugal, figures reported by ESPN and the Portuguese newspaper A Bola.

In the full Portuguese statement reproduced by A Bola, Ronaldo says his journey on the field with the national team ends today. He describes the decision as difficult and thanks his teammates, staff, family and supporters. The announcement concerns Portugal duty.

Twenty-three years in the national shirt

Ronaldo dates the beginning of his senior international career to August 2003. Across the next 23 years, the national shirt became a constant through changes of club, coaches and generations of teammates. His farewell spends much of its time on the people around those matches, including Portuguese supporters living abroad.

Portugal won Euro 2016 and two Nations League titles during that international career, as A Bola’s account notes. Those team honors give the farewell a different shape from a list of individual scoring records: Ronaldo departs a national side that learned to win major finals during his tenure.

Portugal’s next selection

The announcement arrives ahead of coach Jorge Jesus’ scheduled Friday squad announcement. ESPN places the decision after the recent dispute between Ronaldo and Jesus. Ronaldo’s farewell statement, however, concentrates on his service to Portugal and the generations who will follow him. It does not make a new allegation about the coach.

Portugal now has to distribute the responsibilities that gathered around its long-serving captain: goals, leadership and the attention that followed each selection. Ronaldo’s farewell explicitly passes that future to younger players. His number can be reassigned; the weight of the role will take longer to redistribute.