Cristiano Ronaldo has announced his intention to retire from the Portuguese national football team in a social media post. The 41-year-old said that he would “hand back the No 7 shirt” after the November international break.
Ronaldo has made 234 appearances for Portugal and scored 146 goals. He holds the all-time record for men’s international appearances and for international goals.
“To the Portuguese people, the day has come for me to hand back the No 7 shirt of our national team,” Ronaldo said in a long video message. “I never felt it belonged to me alone but for 23 years I had the privilege and the responsibility of wearing it, defending it and carrying it with me into stadiums all around the world.”
