The key facts

  • Ronaldo announced the end of his international career on Thursday
  • Record: 146 goals in 234 appearances for Portugal, debut in 2003
  • Main trophies — Euro 2016 and two Nations League titles

The end of an era with the national team

Cristiano Ronaldo announced on Thursday that he is ending his career with the national team, putting an end to more than two decades of playing for Portugal. According to AFP, the 41-year-old forward holds the record of 146 goals in 234 appearances for the national team; he made his debut in 2003.

Five landmark matches

The agency recalls five key episodes of his play for the Seleção. In the play-off matches of the 2014 World Cup qualifying tournament, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in Stockholm against Sweden, netting three goals in two minutes and sending Portugal to the tournament in Brazil — despite Zlatan Ibrahimović's brace. At Euro 2016, where the Portuguese failed to win a single group-stage match, Ronaldo was injured and left the pitch in tears just 25 minutes into the final against France in Paris, but stayed on the sideline encouraging his teammates; Éder scored the winning goal in extra time, giving the country its first major trophy — 12 years after the home defeat to Greece. At the 2018 World Cup in Sochi, he scored a hat-trick against Spain, including a spectacular free kick in the closing stages, and salvaged a draw in the opening match. Three months after his 40th birthday, Ronaldo scored the winning goal in the Nations League semi-final against Germany, and in the final in Munich he equalized against Spain to send the match into extra time; Portugal won on penalties, repeating their success of six years earlier. Finally, at this year's World Cup in Toronto, after an unremarkable group stage, he converted a penalty in the round-of-32 match against Croatia, and a late goal by Gonçalo Ramos gave Portugal a 2:1 victory; in the round of 16 the team lost to the eventual champions — Spain.

What is known and what is not yet known

The announcement concerns only his international career: according to available reports, Ronaldo has not announced the end of his club career. The details of the decision — the reasons, plans for the future and possible farewell events — are not disclosed in the available materials.