Hyderabad: Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo retired from international football on Thursday, drawing the curtains on an impressive career that lasted for 23 years and six World Cups. The 41-year-old made 234 appearances for Portugal and scored a total of 146 goals, holding the record for international appearances and international goals.
However, Ronaldo’s retirement came when he was near breaching the 1000-goal mark. Also, he stepped away from the global stage after a fallout with his head coach that left many pondering the reasons behind his goodbye to the international stage.
Events before Ronaldo retired from international football
The 41-year-old's decision to retire put an end to the speculation about him walking away from the international stage. Also, his retirement with 15 short of the 100-goal mark raised some eyebrows. His announcement comes after a fallout with head coach Jorge Jesus, and long story short, the controversy between the two might be one of the reasons he announced his retirement.
Ronaldo’s exit from national camp
It all started on September 30, when Ronaldo made an abrupt departure from Portugal’s training camp ahead of their Nations League clash against Denmark. Ronaldo confirmed his decision on social media, saying he has decided to leave the national team’s training camp after Jesus’ press conference
Jesus on Ronaldo’s walk-off
In the presser, the Portugal head coach confirmed that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner will not be a part of the starting lineup against Denmark.
After Ronaldo walked off, coach Jesus said in his press conference that Ronaldo will decide how he ends his international career.
“If he wants to, he’ll return to the national team. We can talk before the next call-up, but Cris is the one who’s going to decide,” said Jesus, who also coached Ronaldo at Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr.
“He’s the one who should decide how he wants to end his time with the national team. In my first call-up, I said, ‘I need you, I need you to be close to me, playing or not playing, I need you’. And now I’m saying the same thing.”
Ronaldo’s side of the story
Six days later, Ronaldo shared his side of the story with a lengthy statement. He claimed that Jesus broke his word twice, including the failed agreement to publicly explain his exclusion against Norway.
Ronaldo further revealed that there was an agreement in place between him and the coach that he would rest for the Norway and Denmark matches to manage the workload. However, on the day of the match against Norway, he was told to play for 30 minutes.
The 41-year-old also revealed that Jesus did not fulfil his promise about what he was going to say in the press conference, and he walked away from the national camp after the word was broken twice by the head coach.
When did Ronaldo play his last match for Portugal?
Ronaldo’s last appearance for the national team came on September 24 during a 1-0 win against Wales. He was substituted in the 67th minute by the head coach, Jorge Jesus. Subsequently, Ronaldo’s fallout with the head coach took place, and the 41-year-old announced his retirement from the international stage on Thursday, November 5.
Records held by Ronaldo
Most goals in international football
Ronaldo has scored 146 goals in international football, which is the most at the global stage. However, his record might be broken by the Argentine star Lionel Messi, who has racked up 126 goals from 208 matches so far. Ali Daei (108) of Iran, Sunil Chhetri (95) of India and Romelu Lukaku(94) of Belgium make up the top five.
Most appearances in international football
Ronaldo has made 234 international appearances so far and holds the record for playing the most matches at the international stage. Luka Modrić of Croatia is in second place with 206 fixtures. Bader Al-Mutawa of Kuwait is in third position with 202 appearances.
Player with most World Cups
Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the only two players to feature across six World Cups.
Ronaldo is the oldest player to feature in a World Cup knockout match, aged 41 years and 147 days. He is the highest goal-scorer for Portugal at the World Cup (2011). Ronaldo holds records for most European Championship tournaments played (6), most appearances (30), and most goals (14).