Cristiano Ronaldo Announces Retirement From International Football

Cristiano Ronaldo has stepped away from international football, closing a 23-year spell with Portugal during which he set national records for both appearances and goals.

The 41-year-old forward shared the news on Thursday, November 5, through a video posted on Instagram. In the clip, he read out a farewell letter addressed to those who have supported him over the years, as first reported by Citi News.

Ronaldo spent much of his time with the national side wearing the number 7 jersey, a shirt closely linked with Portugal. In his message, he said the moment had arrived for him to give it up.

"The day has come for me to hand back the number 7 shirt of our national team," he said.

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He added that he had never regarded the shirt as his personal property, describing the years he spent wearing it as both an honour and a duty.

"I never thought it belonged to me alone. But for 23 years, I had the privilege and the responsibility of wearing it," Ronaldo said.

According to Citi News, the forward, who has previously played for Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, leaves the national team having featured 234 times for Portugal. That total is a record for the country.

Over the same period he found the net 146 times, a tally that places him at the top of Portugal's all-time scoring chart.

His years in a Portugal shirt also helped cement his reputation as one of the most decorated footballers the sport has seen, the outlet reported.

The announcement marks the end of an international career that spanned more than two decades and made Ronaldo the most capped and most prolific player in his nation's history.