Portuguese billionaire footballer Cristiano Ronaldo retires from Portugal duty after record 146 goals

Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese forward who became football’s first billionaire last year, retired from international football on Thursday, ending a 23-year career with Portugal in which he set world records for goals and appearances.

The 41-year-old Al Nassr captain announced the decision in a five-minute video posted to social media. He leaves with 146 goals in 234 matches for his country, both records in men’s international football, since making his debut as an 18-year-old in August 2003.

“To the Portuguese people, the day has come for me to hand back the number seven shirt of our national team,” Ronaldo said in the video. “A journey that began in August 2003 and changed my life forever has come to an end.”

He said he never felt the shirt belonged to him alone, and that he had carried it into stadiums around the world for 23 years. “It was not an easy decision,” he said.

A row with the coach

The retirement follows a public rift with Jorge Jesus, who took charge of Portugal after Roberto Martínez stepped down at the end of the World Cup in July. Ronaldo warmed up but was not brought on in a 2-1 Nations League win over Norway in Oslo on Sept. 27, then learned he would not start against Denmark on Oct. 1. He left the team’s camp in Copenhagen on Sept. 30 and accused Jesus of breaking his word about his playing time.

The Portuguese Football Federation suspended him for 30 days and fined him €255 (about $285), the minimum penalty under its rules, on Oct. 19. Ronaldo had apologized to his teammates and said he expected to be punished. The ban ran out at the end of October, which would have left him available when Portugal name their squad on Friday for Nations League matches against Denmark on Nov. 14 and Wales on Nov. 17.

His last game for Portugal was a 1-0 win over Wales in Lisbon on Sept. 24.

The federation said it would not let his farewell pass without a proper tribute and would organize an event where fans and the country could “applaud and celebrate” him.

Portugal’s record scorer

Ronaldo captained Portugal from 2008. He played at six European Championships, losing the 2004 final on home soil to Greece and winning the title in 2016, the country’s first major trophy. He also won the Nations League in 2019 and 2025.

He is the only man to score at six World Cups and finished with 11 goals at the tournament, a Portugal record. The team never went past the semifinal it reached in 2006. His final World Cup ended in a 1-0 loss to Spain in the round of 16 in Arlington, Texas, on July 6.

Ronaldo’s exit comes less than a month after Argentina’s Lionel Messi, his rival for close to two decades, played his last international match in front of 85,000 fans in Buenos Aires.

A $1.4 billion fortune

Ronaldo will keep playing for Al Nassr, the Riyadh club he joined in January 2023. In June 2025 he signed a two-year extension reportedly worth more than $400 million, keeping him at the club past his 42nd birthday. The deal was reported to include a 15% stake in Al Nassr.

The contract pushed his net worth to $1.4 billion, and in October 2025 he became the first footballer added to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The index estimated he earned more than $550 million in salary between 2002 and 2023, while a Nike contract worth nearly $18 million a year and deals with Armani, Castrol and other brands added more than $175 million.

He is also the best-paid athlete in sport. Forbes ranked him first for the fourth straight year in May, with $300 million in earnings in the 12 months to May 1, matching the single-year record Floyd Mayweather Jr. set in 2015. Al Nassr won the Saudi Pro League title the same month.

Born in Funchal on the island of Madeira in 1985, Ronaldo came through at Sporting CP before moves to Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, followed by a second spell at United. He won five Ballon d’Or awards and five Champions League titles. Off the field, he has built the CR7 brand into hotels, gyms, fragrances and clothing.