Reported by Al Jazeera
After announcing his international retirement, Portugal’s longstanding captain leaves behind a complicated legacy.
An inviting volley blazed over the bar, a trademark free kick clattering into the wall, and a showman’s celebrations cut short by an offside goal.
In many ways, the frustrations Cristiano Ronaldo endured in his final match for Portugal reflected his long-altered reality – one of football’s most devastating players had become a liability.
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For many, Ronaldo’s fall from grace could hardly be crueller.
The boy from Madeira captivated the world for years with his jaw-dropping talent, age-defying athleticism and larger-than-life personality. Yet the final chapter of his international career had anything but a fairytale ending – a forgettable climax to an otherwise illustrious journey.
Ronaldo has walked away from the national team with individual achievements most footballers can only dream of: the all-time record for international appearances (234) and goals (146).
“Portugal will always be a part of me,” the 41-year-old said in a five-minute video shared on Thursday, bidding goodbye to the team he first played for in 2003.
In the weeks leading up to his announcement, Ronaldo had been at the centre of a controversy , leaving fans and critics wondering if that was the end of the road for Portugal’s longstanding captain.
The forward’s waning influence on the field, a public rift with Portugal coach Jorge Jesus and a near 2,000-word statement after a dramatic mid-camp walkout were the perfect recipe for worldwide football gossip – and ultimately, retirement.
“He wanted the manager to go out and say ‘I’ve put a player on the bench at the calibre of Pele and [Diego] Maradona,'” ex-Liverpool player-turned-pundit Jamie Carragher said on The Overlap podcast.
For more than two decades, Ronaldo made himself impossible to ignore in a Portugal shirt. He brought home the Selecao’s first major trophy, the Euro 2016 crown, before adding two Nations League titles in 2019 and 2025.
After being celebrated as a hero, Ronaldo slowly transitioned into the villain during the World Cup in Qatar. A lack of goals saw him dropped to the bench in two crucial knockout games, while…