Gave everything I had: Cristiano Ronaldo to retire from Portugal

Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo has announced his retirement from international football in a video statement posted on social media.

The video was uploaded on Thursday, November 5, with the caption, “Portugal will always be in me.” Starting his statement by addressing the Portuguese people, Ronaldo said, “The time has come for me to hand back the number 7 shirt of our national team. I never felt it belonged to me alone.”

He said for 23 years, he had the responsibility of wearing it and defending it in stadiums across the world. “Today the time has come to pass it on to the future.”

Acknowledging the difficulty of the choice, the 41-year-old shared that certain decisions require listening to the heart, not just the mind.

Portugal estará sempre em mim pic.twitter.com/dnFj51rxmh

— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) November 5, 2026

“Looking back on my journey, I don’t just see the goals, records, or the trophies. I see the people. I see the Portuguese living abroad for those ninety minutes feeling a little closer to home. I see millions of Portuguese who I have never met but have become a part of my life,” he said, adding that football is bigger than just a game.

“I wanted to make history, I wanted to do more and I gave everything I had for this shirt,” he said, remembering the mistakes, defeats, wins, and the moments he “could never give to the people of Portugal what they so desperately wanted.”

“But I never stopped feeling proud to represent Portugal,” he said.

Reflecting on his time in the team, Ronaldo said, “Goals fade, trophies end up in museums, records are eventually broken, but there is something that time can never erase: the place we hold in people’s hearts.”

He said it was all worth it if even one of his goals or matches made someone embrace a person, feel happy for a moment, or feel proud of their country and forget their worries. “Because being Portuguese means we suffer together; we rise together. We believe again.”

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