Ronaldo retires from Portugal at 41 with world records of 234 caps and 146 goals, handing back the No. 7

The scale of those figures is hard to overstate. Ronaldo passed Ali Daei to become the leading scorer in men's international football in September 2021, with two goals against the Republic of Ireland in Faro-Loulé, and then kept going, adding dozens more in his late thirties and early forties. Six World Cups is itself a feat of endurance. FIFA records that he took his World Cup tally to 11 with three goals at the finals in North America this summer, a tournament that ended for Portugal in a Round of 16 defeat by Spain.

He captained Portugal to the country's first major trophy at Euro 2016, and to two Nations League titles. For a nation that had long produced brilliant players and few trophies, that changed its footballing history.

A farewell that was not simple

Retirements of this size are usually planned, with a final match and a lap of honour. Ronaldo's did not quite work that way. India's state broadcaster reported that the career finished with him walking away from the national team after a falling-out with coach Jorge Jesus, who took charge of Portugal after the World Cup. Neither the federation's statement nor Ronaldo's post, as quoted, gives any detail of a dispute, and Portugal has not set out what happened.

The federation's tone was warm and emphatic. Its statement called him an inspiring leader and the greatest symbol of the soul of the national team. It said that for many he is the best player of all time, and it refused to let the goodbye pass without a proper tribute. It said it firmly wants to organise and take part in an event at which fans and the country can applaud him once more. No date has been set. It ended with a line that doubled as an instruction: "Vamos ao golo 1000!!!" Let's go for goal 1,000.

The timing has an echo. Lionel Messi finished his career with Argentina in a much anticipated farewell match last month. For most of two decades the two men defined the world game, and within weeks both have left international football, in very different ways.

Why it matters

For Portugal, the question is what comes next. Ronaldo has been captain, talisman and main story of the national team for most of this century, and many of its current players grew up watching him. Jorge Jesus now has a free hand, and the side has long had the talent to play without its most famous name. The absence of one enormous personality may even make the team's job simpler. It will certainly make it quieter.

For football's record books, the marks of 234 and 146 look safe for a long time. Few players now have careers of that length at the top level, and the international calendar leaves limited room to catch him.

Critics have long argued that his later years for Portugal, when his goals came more often against smaller sides, added to the totals more than they added to the team. However, even a reading that discounts those matches leaves a career without parallel, and his goals in major tournaments are on the record.

He is not done yet, and neither is the debate about his place in the game, which will outlast any total in a table. Younger players around the world who never saw his early seasons have still grown up with him as a fixture of every major tournament of their lives. Ronaldo will keep playing at club level and is expected to finish his club career at the end of this season with Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia. Official figures put him on 985 career goals, so 1,000 is 15 away. With no more international breaks, all of those will have to come for his club.

That is the target now, and his old federation has publicly signed up to it. The national team has moved on. The shirt he handed back is waiting for someone brave enough to wear it.