Cristiano Ronaldo has announced his retirement from international football, ending a 23-year career with Portugal that began in August 2003 and, in his words, “changed my life forever”.
In an open letter addressed “to the Portuguese people”, the forward said the time had come to hand back the captain’s armband and the shirt of a national team that, he wrote, “belongs to all of us”.
“Not an easy decision”
“I never felt that it was exclusively mine, but for 23 years, I had the privilege and responsibility of wearing it, defending it, and carrying it with me to stadiums all around the world,” Ronaldo wrote.
“Today, the moment has come to pass it on to the future. It was not an easy decision, because some decisions are not made with the head alone. They are also made with the heart.”
“Time can never erase” his place in hearts
Reflecting on his career, Ronaldo said individual honours matter less than the bond with supporters. “Goals come and go, trophies end up in museums, records are eventually broken, but there is something that time can never erase. The place I hold in people’s hearts,” he wrote.
“If I ever made you happy, if one of my goals ever made you hug someone, forget a worry, or feel proud of our country, then it was all worth it. Because being Portuguese is also about that. We suffer together. We get back up together. We believe again.”
Message to teammates
He thanked his teammates for “every run, every hug, every argument, every moment of silence before stepping onto the pitch, every victory we celebrated together, and every defeat that made us stronger”.
“I had the privilege of being your captain, but no captain walks alone, and you are all part of my story,” he said.
“We stop being different”
Ronaldo described the moment the anthem begins as the image he will always carry. “I see children, mothers, fathers, and grandparents. I see Portuguese people who travelled from so far away just to be there. And during those moments, we stop being different,” he wrote.
“There are no clubs. There are no colors. There are no classes. There are no professions. There are no opinions. There is only one passion: Portugal.”
He said he leaves “with my head held high, proud of the journey I have taken and knowing that I gave everything I had for Portugal”, but would remain a supporter. “I will never stop being one of you. I will continue to suffer, to feel the excitement, and to celebrate every Portuguese victory, just as I always have.”
“Back in Madeira, running after a ball”
“I spent my life working to become the best player in the world. Today, I realize that my greatest victory was earning the honor of representing the best country in the world,” Ronaldo wrote.
He thanked fans “for believing in me” and for letting him live a dream that began “when I was just a little boy in Madeira, running after a ball”.
“The number 7 shirt remains, but the pride of having worn it will be mine forever. Portugal will always be a part of me. Forever,” he concluded.
