{"id":2720,"date":"2026-11-05T21:00:05","date_gmt":"2026-11-05T13:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/?p=2720"},"modified":"2026-11-05T21:00:05","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T13:00:05","slug":"cristiano-ronaldo-announces-retirement-from-portugal-duty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/05\/cristiano-ronaldo-announces-retirement-from-portugal-duty\/","title":{"rendered":"Cristiano Ronaldo announces retirement from Portugal duty"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Cristiano Ronaldo announced his retirement from the Portugal national team on Thursday, bringing down the curtain on a legendary international career with an emotional farewell video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking to his YouTube channel, Cristiano Ronaldo published the video confirming the news no football supporter ever truly wanted to hear. The iconic ‘7’ draws a line under his extraordinary journey with Portugal, sealing an indelible legacy in world football. Here is his letter in full:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“To the people of Portugal. The day has arrived to hand back the number ‘7’ shirt to our national team. I never felt it belonged solely to me. Yet for 23 years, I have enjoyed the privilege and shouldered the responsibility of wearing it, defending it, and elevating it across stadiums worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The moment has come to pass it on to the future. It has not been an easy decision, because many choices are not made with the head alone. They are also made with the heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A journey that began in August 2003, changed my life forever, and now reaches its conclusion. When I look back and reflect on everything experienced with the national team, I do not just see matches, goals, records, or trophies. I see people. I see Portuguese people living across the globe who, for 90 minutes, brought everything a little closer to home. I see millions of Portuguese people I have never met, but who have become part of my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because, when all is said and done, football is far more than just a game. Football belongs to the people. Throughout my international career, I pushed past my limits time and time again. I wanted to win. I wanted to be better. I wanted to make history. I constantly demanded far more of myself. I always wanted more. I always felt we could go further. And I poured everything into this shirt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were perfect afternoons and unforgettable nights. There were victories I will cherish forever. There were defeats that still hurt to recall. I also made mistakes. I suffered. There were moments when I could not deliver what the Portuguese people so desperately craved. But I never surrendered. And above all else, I never stopped feeling proud to represent Portugal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across all these years, I have learned a few simple truths. Goals fade. Trophies end up locked away in museums. Memories eventually crack. But something always remains that time can never erase: the place I occupy in people’s hearts. If I ever brought you happiness, if any of my goals made you embrace a loved one, if I made you feel proud of your country, then every single second was worth it. Because being Portuguese is worth it too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We suffered together. We picked ourselves up together. We believed again. Portugal will always need young dreamers. Players who never throw in the towel. New generations who believe it is possible to reach heights never seen before. Because a country that continues to forge new heroes is a country that will never cease believing in itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To my teammates in the national squad, I want to say something special. Thank you for every sprint. For every embrace. For every argument. For every silence before stepping onto the pitch. For every victory we celebrated together and for every defeat that forged our resilience. I had the privilege of being your captain, but a captain never walks alone. And you have forever shaped my story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To every manager, director, doctor, physiotherapist, kit man, backroom staff member, and countless others who worked alongside me over the years: thank you. Many of you never appeared in the photographs, but without you, none of those photographs would have been possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To my family. Thank you for sharing this dream with me. Thank you for understanding my absences, my sacrifices, and the moments when the national team had to occupy a space in my life that also belonged to you. If I reached these heights, it is because you walked hand in hand with me every step of the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And to the Portuguese people. To every Portuguese supporter around the world. I want to tell you one last thing. There is an image I will carry with me forever: the moment our national anthem begins to play. I look around and see my teammates. I look at the stands. I see children, mothers, fathers, and grandparents. I see Portuguese fans who travelled from all corners of the earth just to be there. And during those minutes, every single difference between us vanishes. Clubs do not exist. Colours do not exist. Social classes do not exist. Professions do not exist. Opinions do not exist. Only one single passion remains: PORTUGAL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the feeling that will stay with me for the rest of my days. Today, my journey on the pitch with the national team draws to a close. I walk away with my head held high, proud of the path I forged, fully aware that I gave every ounce of energy I possessed for Portugal. But I will never stop being one of you. I will continue to suffer, roar, and celebrate every Portugal victory with a ‘siuuuuu’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I dedicated my entire life to becoming the best player in the world. Today, I understand that my greatest triumph was earning the honour of representing 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 out a dream that began as a little boy in Madeira chasing a football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number ‘7’ shirt will endure, but the pride I carried will remain with me forever. Portugal will always live inside me. Farewell. Cristiano Ronaldo.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cristiano Ronaldo announced his retirement from the Por […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2720"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2722,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2720\/revisions\/2722"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}