Cristiano Ronaldo retires: CR7's emotional goodbye message in full

Cristiano Ronaldo has officially retired from international football.

The superstar made his Portugal debut in August of 2003, aged just 18, in a friendly against Kazakhstan. More than two decades later, he has become the country's all-time leading goalscorer and most-capped player.

He has scored 146 goals in 234 appearances for Portugal, making him the highest-scoring men's international player in football history. Ronaldo captained the Seleccao to their first major trophy at Euro 2016 before winning the UEFA Nations League in 2019 and 2025, and he still featured for his country at the age of 41.

However, despite his celebrated international career, he leaves Portugal under a cloud following the previous international break in which he walked away from the squad after failing to get off the bench in a Nations League fixture against Norway.

His decision to leave raised questions about his international future amid reported tensions with head coach Jorge Jesus.

Despite Jesus previously suggesting Ronaldo would be welcomed back, the forward posted a lengthy message on Instagram alleging that the coach had broken his promise to give him 30 minutes against Norway.

Things went quiet for a few weeks and the general consensus was that CR7 would return to Portugal at some point, perhaps even for one final farewell match.

But, he has now made the decision to retire from international duties and revealed the announcement via an emotional video on Instagram. You can read what he said in full below

"To the Portuguese people, the day has come to return the No.7 shirt of the national team to all of you. I have never felt that it belonged exclusively to me. But for 23 years, I have had the privilege and responsibility of wearing it, defending it and taking it with me to stadiums all over the world.

"Today is the time to hand it over to the future.

"It was not an easy decision, because some decisions are not made only with the head; they are also made with the heart. I am finishing a journey that started in August 2003 and changed my life forever.

"When I look back and think about everything I experienced with the national team, I don't see only games, goals, records or trophies. I see people. I see immigrants who, for 90 minutes, felt Portugal a little closer. I see millions of Portuguese people whom I never knew personally but who were part of my life.

"Because, at the end of the day, football is much bigger than a game. Football is about people.

"Throughout my entire career with the national team, I tried to overcome my limits. I wanted to win, I wanted to be the best, I wanted to make history. I was always demanding of myself. I always wanted more. I always believed that we could go further. And I gave everything I had for this shirt.

"There were perfect evenings and nights. There were victories that I will never forget. There were defeats that I still cannot forget. I also failed. I also suffered. There were times when I wasn't able to give the Portuguese people what they wanted so much.

"But I never gave up. And above all, I never stopped feeling proud of representing Portugal.

"Over the years, I learned some very simple things. Goals pass, cups stay in museums, and records eventually get broken. But there is something that time can never erase: the place we occupy in people's hearts.

"If I ever made you happy, if a goal of mine ever made you hug someone, forget a worry or simply feel pride in our country, then everything was worth it.

"Because being Portuguese is also about that. We suffer together, we get up together, and we believe again.

"Portugal will always need young people who dream, players who never give up, and new generations who believe that it is possible to reach places no one has reached before. Because a country that continues to create new heroes is a country that never stops believing in itself.

"To my team-mates, I want to leave a special message. Thank you for every run, every hug, every discussion, every silence before entering the field, 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 part of my story.

To all the coaches, directors, doctors, physiotherapists, kit men, staff members and the many other people who have worked with me over the years, thank you.

"Many of you have never appeared in the photographs, but without you, none of those photographs would have been possible.

"To my family, thank you for sharing this dream with me. Thank you for understanding the absences, the sacrifices and the moments when the national team had to occupy a space that also belonged to you.

"If I got this far, it was because we were always on the same side.

"And to the Portuguese people, to all the Portuguese around the world, I want to tell you one last thing.

There is one image that I will always carry with me: the moment when the national anthem begins.

"I look around me. I see my team-mates, I see the stands, I see children, mothers, fathers and grandfathers. I see Portuguese people who have travelled from so far away just to be there.

"And during those minutes, we stop being different.

"There are no clubs, there are no colours, there are no classes, there are no professions, there are no opinions. There is only one passion: Portugal.

"It is this feeling that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

"Today, I finish my journey on the pitch with the national team. I look back with pride at the path I have taken and with the knowledge that I gave everything I had for Portugal.

"But I will never stop being one of you. I will continue to suffer, to feel every emotion and to celebrate every Portugal victory alongside you.

"I spent my life working to become the best player in the world. Today, I realise that the greatest victory was having deserved to represent the best country in the world.

"Thank you for these 23 years. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for allowing me to live a dream that started when I was just a boy in Madeira, running after a ball.

"The shirt may change, but the pride of wearing it will be mine forever.

"Portugal will always be in me.

"Until always,

Cristiano Ronaldo."