The last thing Cristiano Ronaldo did for Portugal was warm up.
Oslo, 27 September. He jogged the touchline, stretched and waited for the call.
It never came. The final whistle went, Portugal won, and the greatest goalscorer men’s international football has ever seen walked back to the dressing room without touching the ball.
Nobody knew it then, but that was the end.
On Thursday Ronaldo posted a video and read a letter to the country he has carried for 23 years. It was time, he said, to hand back the number 7 shirt.
He signed off in Portuguese: “Portugal estará sempre em mim.” Portugal will always be in me.
He is 41. He has nothing left to prove. And yet it still feels like the story stopped one chapter early.
The boy from Madeira
Go back to 20 August 2003. An 18-year-old with blond highlights and more stepovers than sense comes on against Kazakhstan.
Nobody in that stadium could have guessed what was coming.
Here’s what came: 234 caps and 146 goals. Nobody in the history of the men’s game has played more internationals or scored more goals in them.
He scored at six different World Cups, something no other player has ever done.
He scored 14 goals at the Euros, another record. He scored 10 international hat-tricks, which is a record too.
Then there are the moments the numbers can’t hold.
Paris, Euro 2016. The final against the hosts. Ronaldo’s knee gives way early and he goes off in tears, his tournament over.
What does he do? He spends extra time on the touchline, limping and screaming and coaching like a man possessed, until Eder’s shot flies in and Portugal are champions of Europe for the first time ever.
He added the Nations League in 2019 with a semi-final hat-trick against Switzerland, then won it again in 2025, scoring in the final against Spain.
The World Cup was the one that got away. Six attempts and no trophy. That’s the only hole in the CV.
How it fell apart
Jorge Jesus took over after this summer’s World Cup, and for about a week everything looked normal.
Ronaldo started the Nations League opener against Wales in Lisbon on 24 September.
Portugal won 1-0. He was taken off for Gonçalo Ramos. Nobody blinked.
Then came Oslo and the warm-up that went nowhere. Ronaldo said Jesus had promised him a role and then broken that promise, twice.
Jesus didn’t back down. Asked about it before the next game, he said: “I can promise whatever I want. I am the manager.”
Ronaldo packed his bags in Copenhagen and left before the Denmark match.
The federation gave him a 30-day ban and a €255 fine. That’s pocket change for a man of his wealth, but a deep wound to his pride.
To his credit, he owned it. He apologised to his teammates, said the responsibility was his alone, and asked to be punished.
Then came the twist that made the decision for him. Ramos scored three goals in his place, and Portugal won every game without him to book a quarter-final spot. The team had moved on, and Ronaldo saw it.
The ban is served. He could have gone back. Instead, he chose to leave on his own terms.
Ronaldo is still banging them in for Al-Nassr. His hat-trick last week took his career tally to 985 goals.
He has said openly that he wants 1,000. That leaves 15 to go, with his contract running until June 2027 and Ronaldo himself calling this “probably” his final season.
Without international breaks, there are no more long flights to Lisbon and no more arguments with Jesus.
Every ounce of energy he has left now goes into Ange Postecoglou’s title chase in Riyadh.
His next scheduled match is Al-Nassr vs Al-Qadsiah on 20 November.
XScore Verdict
A rested, angry Ronaldo with a point to prove and 15 goals to chase is the most dangerous kind of Ronaldo.
Back him as an anytime scorer against Al-Qadsiah, and don’t be shocked if he finishes the season as the Saudi Pro League’s top scorer.
He has promised fans “one or more farewell matches” in a Portugal shirt. The federation says a tribute is coming, but there’s no date yet.
When it happens, expect tears. His, probably. Ours, definitely.
