Portugal’s legendary footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has announced his retirement from international football. He announced his decision to bid farewell to his 23-year-long international career through an emotional video message shared on social media on Thursday. With this decision of Ronaldo, his wonderful journey with the Portugal national team came to an end. He said that now the time has come for him to hand over his prestigious number-7 jersey to the next generation of players.
Announced retirement in Instagram video
Cristiano Ronaldo made his international debut for the Portugal national team in August 2003 in a match against Kazakhstan. In that match, he came on the field as a substitute. After this he did not look back and remained an important part of the Portugal team for 23 consecutive years.
In his farewell message, Ronaldo said that wearing Portugal’s number-7 jersey was not only an honor for him, but also a big responsibility. He said that this jersey was never just his, but he continued to represent his country in stadiums around the world wearing it. Now the time has come to hand it over to the future generation.
Scored 146 goals in 234 matches, made many big records in his name
Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest goalscorer for Portugal. He scored 146 goals in 234 matches for the national team. In his international career, he achieved many historic achievements and took Portugal to new heights.
Ronaldo said in his message that his journey with the national team was not limited to just goals, records and trophies. During this time, he got the love of Portuguese supporters living all over the world. He said that football is not just a game, but it is the name of people’s emotions and mutual connection.
Ronaldo became emotional remembering victory and defeat
In his farewell message, Ronaldo also recalled the memorable moments of his international career. He said that in this journey there were many great victories, but there were some defeats too, which still hurts to remember. On many occasions he failed to live up to the expectations of his supporters, but his pride in representing Portugal never diminished.
He said that records get broken one day, trophies end up in museums and even goals become history with time, but the place created in people’s hearts never ends. If any of his goals brought joy to the supporters’ faces or made them feel proud of their country, then that is the biggest achievement for them.
gave a big message to the youth
While bidding farewell from international football, Ronaldo also gave a special message to the young players of Portugal. He said that the country needs such players who dream big, never give up and have the courage to achieve new achievements.
Expressing gratitude to his fellow players, he said that despite being the captain, no captain can reach his destination alone. The struggle, support, wins and losses of his teammates made his journey special.
Also expressed gratitude to family and support staff
Ronaldo also thanked the coaches, doctors, physiotherapists, kit managers and other colleagues who supported him during his 23-year international career. He said that there are many people who are not visible in the photographs, but without them it was difficult for those historical moments to be possible.
Along with this he expressed his gratitude to his family. Ronaldo said that his family often had to sacrifice his time and company because of his responsibilities towards the national team. The support of his family was very important for him throughout this journey.
Has won Ballon d’Or five times
Cristiano Ronaldo’s career has also been very brilliant in terms of personal achievements. He has won the prestigious Ballon d’Or award five times. Apart from this, he has won the title of UEFA Men’s Player of the Year three times and the European Golden Boot four times.
Wearing Portugal jersey said to be the biggest achievement
At the end of his farewell message, Ronaldo said that he had worked hard all his life to become the best player in the world, but today he realized that getting the honor of representing the best country in the world was his biggest victory.
He made it clear that despite retiring from international football, he will continue to support the Portugal team. Will be happy on every victory of the team and will stand with it in every defeat. He said that even though he will no longer have the number 7 jersey, the pride of wearing it will always be with him.
He was also in discussion about suspension before announcing his retirement.
It is noteworthy that this announcement of Ronaldo has come after the disciplinary action taken by the Portuguese Football Federation. He faced a 30-day suspension and a fine of 255 euros for skipping the national team’s training camp before the match against Denmark in October.
With the announcement of 41-year-old Ronaldo’s retirement from international football, a memorable chapter in Portugal’s football history has ended. Ronaldo, who has been on the field in the country’s jersey for 23 years, will no longer be seen as a player of the national team, but as one of its biggest supporters.