The announcement comes amid a reported rift with national team coach Jorge Jesus, who previously managed Ronaldo at Al-Nassr.
Cristiano Ronaldo announced his retirement from the Portugal national team on Thursday, Nov. 5, closing out a career that began with his Portugal debut back in 2003. He will turn 42 in February, and while that alone makes the timing unsurprising, there is more to the story than age.
Ronaldo has spent the past few weeks in a public feud with national team coach Jorge Jesus, who previously managed him at Al-Nassr. Notably, Ronaldo did not mention Jesus or the rift in his retirement announcement. He had previously floated the idea of stepping away from international football after the 2026 World Cup, where Portugal was eliminated by Spain in the round of 16.
Across his international career, Ronaldo won Euro 2016 and two UEFA Nations League titles with Portugal, cementing himself as one of the most decorated players in the national team's history. His exit closes a run that spanned more than two decades and multiple generations of Portuguese teammates, some of whom were born after his debut.
The exact trigger behind this latest and apparently final falling-out with Jesus remains tied to tension that had been building for weeks before the announcement.