Cristiano Ronaldo retires from Portugal duty at 41 with 146 goals in 234 matches

Cristiano Ronaldo has retired from international football, ending a 23-year career with Portugal in which he scored 146 goals in 234 matches, more than any other man in the history of the international game. The 41-year-old announced the decision in a video on his Instagram account on Thursday, 5 November, ARY News reported, and OneFootball confirmed the details of his record.

The first reports reached Pakistan at about 3:30pm PKT on Thursday.

Ronaldo's Portugal record in numbers

• Debut: 2003, as an 18-year-old
• Matches: 234, the most by any man in international football
• Goals: 146, the all-time men's international record
• Titles: Euro 2016 and the 2019 UEFA Nations League, both as captain
• Tournaments: five World Cups and six European Championships

He leaves as Portugal's captain and record scorer.

Why now: the Jorge Jesus row

The end came after an ugly few weeks. In late September Ronaldo walked out of Portugal's training camp in Denmark after a dispute with new head coach Jorge Jesus, who had left him on the bench against Norway, asked him to warm up and then did not bring him on, according to Goal, citing Marca. At the time Ronaldo wrote that he would one day "tell all Portuguese people the truth" about why he left.

He then said he was not retiring, admitted breaking the federation's code of conduct and accepted a 30-day ban and a €255 fine. He was expected back for the Nations League match against Denmark on 14 November (our earlier report on the ban). Thursday's video means that return will not happen. Portugal's exit from the 2026 World Cup in the summer had already made him consider stopping, OneFootball noted.

What it means for his club career

The retirement is from Portugal only. Ronaldo carries on with Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, where the chase for 1,000 career goals continues: a hat-trick against Al Kholood on 30 October took him to 985, 15 short of the mark. Without international breaks, every remaining goal now has to come for his club.

The end of an era

Ronaldo's Portugal career ran from the Euro 2004 final defeat at home to the 2016 title in Paris, where he went off injured in the final and coached from the touchline as Portugal beat France. His great rival Lionel Messi won the 2022 World Cup with Argentina; Ronaldo never got past the semi-finals of a World Cup.

What happens to the Denmark match on 14 November, and who wears the armband, is now Jorge Jesus's problem.