Cristiano Ronaldo has retired from international football, and he leaves with numbers that may never be matched. In 23 years with Portugal he won 234 caps and scored 146 goals, more than any other man in the history of international football. He played at six World Cups and six European Championships, scored at every one of those World Cups, and lifted Euro 2016 and two Nations League titles. He announced the decision on Thursday 5 November 2026 in a video message to supporters, aged 41. Here is how his Portugal career unfolded, the records he set along the way and the milestones that defined it.

Why Ronaldo has retired now

The announcement came six weeks after his final appearance, a 1-0 Nations League win over Wales on 24 September, in which he captained the side. It followed a public falling-out with Portugal's head coach, Jorge Jesus. According to reports by Sky Sports and Al Jazeera, Ronaldo was left out of the 2-1 Nations League win over Norway, felt that promises about his involvement had not been kept, and left the training camp on 1 October, after which the Portuguese Football Federation suspended him for 30 days. In his message, Ronaldo said he was leaving "with my head held high". The federation, for its part, called him the ultimate symbol of the spirit of the national team and said it would not let his farewell pass without a proper tribute. Ronaldo is not retiring from football altogether. He remains at Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, where he is still scoring regularly.

The records he leaves behind

The headline figures are 234 caps and 146 goals, but the detail is just as remarkable. No man has played more international matches. UEFA's list of the most-capped European men puts him 28 caps clear of Luka Modrić in second place on 206. He was also the first man to reach 200 caps, on 20 June 2023 against Iceland, and marked the occasion with an 89th-minute winner. His 146 goals include 11 at World Cups in 27 appearances, 14 at European Championships in 30 appearances, and 15 in the Nations League. He scored 10 international hat-tricks, the first man to reach that number, and by November 2024 he had more wins in a Portugal shirt than any other men's player had managed for his country. He is the only man to score at six World Cups. Six European Championships and six World Cups make 12 major tournaments, a career that ran from the Euro 2004 generation to the 2026 World Cup in North America.

The early years: 2003 to 2010

Ronaldo was 18 when he made his debut on 20 August 2003, coming on at half-time for Luís Figo in a 1-0 friendly win over Kazakhstan. His first goal came at a home tournament, Euro 2004, in the opening game against Greece at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto on 12 June 2004. Portugal lost that game 2-1, and they lost the final to Greece too, but the teenager on the right wing had arrived. Two years later, on 17 June 2006, he scored his first World Cup goal, a penalty against Iran in Frankfurt. He was made captain before Euro 2008 and wore the armband for most of the years that followed. By the 2010 World Cup in South Africa he was already the side's leader and its main goal threat, the player opponents planned around. Those early tournaments did not bring a trophy, but they built the habits that carried him through the next 16 years.

Captain and champion: 2012 to 2019

Portugal reached the semi-finals of Euro 2012, and in March 2014 Ronaldo scored his 50th international goal, against Cameroon in Leiria. The defining summer came at Euro 2016 in France. He scored three goals on the way to the final, including two in a 3-3 draw with Hungary and one in the 2-0 semi-final win over Wales. In the final against France in Paris, he went off with a knee injury in the first half and watched from the touchline as Éder scored the extra-time winner. Portugal had their first major trophy. At the 2018 World Cup in Russia he scored a hat-trick against Spain in a 3-3 draw in Sochi on 15 June, the third goal arriving in the 88th minute. A year later he scored another hat-trick, against Switzerland in the Nations League semi-final in Porto on 5 June 2019, and Portugal went on to win the first Nations League title on home soil.

Breaking the world record: 2020 to 2024

Ronaldo's 100th international goal came on 8 September 2020, against Sweden in Solna. The world record arrived a year later. On 1 September 2021, he scored twice against the Republic of Ireland in Faro-Loulé to move past Ali Daei's 109 goals and become the highest scorer in the history of men's international football. Later that autumn, on 12 October 2021, a hat-trick against Luxembourg in a 5-0 win made him the first man to score 10 international hat-tricks. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar he scored a penalty against Ghana in Doha on 24 November, becoming the first man to score at five World Cups. Seven months later he became the first man to 200 caps. Euro 2024 in Germany was his sixth European Championship, another record, although it was the only one of his major tournaments in which he did not score.

The last chapter: 2025 and 2026

There was one more trophy to come. In the Nations League final against Spain in Munich on 8 June 2025, Ronaldo equalised on 61 minutes to make it 2-2, and Portugal won the shoot-out 5-3 to lift the title for a second time. At the 2026 World Cup, aged 41, he opened the scoring in the sixth minute against Uzbekistan in Houston on 23 June and added a second in a 5-0 win, becoming the first man to score at six World Cups. His last international goal, number 146, was a penalty in a 2-1 win over Croatia in Toronto on 2 July. Four days later, Spain beat Portugal 1-0 in the round of 16 near Dallas, ending his final World Cup. He won his 234th and last cap against Wales that September.

Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal's white and turquoise away shirt during the 2026 World Cup match against Croatia in Toronto, the game in which he scored his final international goal.

Ronaldo's Portugal career at a glance

  • 2003: debut against Kazakhstan, 20 August, aged 18.
  • 2004: first goal, against Greece at Euro 2004. Runner-up at the tournament.
  • 2006: first World Cup goal, against Iran.
  • 2008: named Portugal captain.
  • 2016: European champion, with three goals at the tournament.
  • 2018: World Cup hat-trick against Spain.
  • 2019: Nations League winner, after a semi-final hat-trick against Switzerland.
  • 2020: 100th international goal, against Sweden.
  • 2021: world record 110th and 111th goals, against Ireland, and a record 10th hat-trick.
  • 2022: first man to score at five World Cups.
  • 2023: first man to 200 caps.
  • 2024: sixth European Championship.
  • 2025: second Nations League title, with a goal in the final.
  • 2026: first man to score at six World Cups. Last goal against Croatia, last cap against Wales and retirement on 5 November.

What comes next

For Portugal, the search for a new captain and a new focal point begins. For Ronaldo, the focus now is entirely on club football. He has scored eight goals in nine Saudi Pro League games for Al-Nassr this season, including a hat-trick in the Matchweek 12 round-up, and from now on his club games are the only place to follow him, whether in the goalscorer markets or simply on the pitch. Al-Nassr, the 2025/26 champions, host Al-Qadsiah on Friday 20 November at 17:00 UTC. Our Al-Nassr v Al-Qadsiah fixture page has the form and head to head, although it carries no bookmaker prices yet. His season so far is on his TotalOdds player page, and our earlier piece on Harry Kane chasing a Ronaldo record shows how long his marks are likely to stand.

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Photo credits

The cover shows Cristiano Ronaldo playing for Portugal against Argentina on 9 February 2011. Photograph by Fanny Schertzer, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, adapted with text. The second picture shows Ronaldo during Croatia v Portugal at the 2026 World Cup on 2 July 2026. Photograph by Bryan Berlin, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped.