To the people of Portugal,
The day has come to hand over the number 7 shirt of our national team. I never thought it belonged only to me. But for 23 years, I had the privilege and responsibility of wearing it, defending it and carrying it with me to stadiums all around the world. Today, the time has come to pass it on to the future.
It was not an easy decision. Because some decisions are not made with the mind alone; they are also made with the heart. A journey that began in August 2003 and changed my life forever has come to an end.
When I look back and think about everything I have experienced with the national team, I don’t just see matches, goals, records or trophies. I see people. I see Portuguese people living abroad who, for ninety minutes, feel a little closer to home. I see millions of Portuguese people I have never met, but who are part of my life. Because, after all, football is much more than a game. Football is about people.
Throughout my career with the national team, I have always pushed my limits. I wanted to win. I wanted to be better. I wanted to make history. I have always expected the best from myself. I have always wanted more. I have always believed that we could go further. And for this shirt, I gave everything I had.
There have been perfect nights. There have been victories I will never forget. There have also been defeats whose memories still hurt. I have made mistakes. I have suffered. There have been moments when I could not give the Portuguese people what they wanted so much. But I never gave up. And above all, I never stopped being proud of representing Portugal.
Over the years, I have learned a few very simple things: Goals are forgotten. Trophies are placed in museums. Records are eventually broken. But there is something that time can never erase: the place we earn in people’s hearts. If I managed to make you happy even just once, if a goal I scored made someone embrace a loved one, if it helped you forget a worry or made you feel proud of our country, then it was all worth it. Because being Portuguese also means this. We suffer together, we rise together. We believe again.
Portugal will always need young people who dare to dream. Players who never give up… New generations who believe it is possible to go where nobody has gone before… Because a country that continually produces new heroes is a country that never stops believing in itself.
I want to say something special to my teammates: Thank you for every run, every embrace, every argument and every moment of silence before we stepped onto the pitch. Thank you for every victory we celebrated together and every defeat that made us stronger. I had the privilege of being your captain, but no captain walks alone. And you will always be part of my story.
To all the coaches, managers, doctors, physiotherapists, kit managers, staff members and so many other people who stood shoulder to shoulder with me throughout these years: Thank you. Many of you never appeared in the photographs. But without you, none of those pictures would have been possible.
To my family: Thank you for sharing this dream with me. Thank you for understanding my absences, my sacrifices and the moments when the national team had to take its place in my life – a place that also belongs to you. If I have made it this far, it is because we have always walked hand in hand.
And to the people of Portugal: Wherever you are in the world, I have one last thing to say to every Portuguese person. There is one image I will carry with me forever. That moment when our national anthem begins… I look around. I see my teammates. I see the stands. I see the children, the mothers, the fathers and the grandparents. I see Portuguese people who have travelled from so far away just to be there. And for those few minutes, all our differences disappear. There are no clubs. No colours. No social classes. No professions. No disagreements. There is only one passion: Portugal.
That is the feeling I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Today, my journey on the pitch with the national team comes to an end. I leave with my head held high. Proud of the path I have travelled and knowing that I gave everything I had for Portugal… But I will never stop being one of you. I will continue to suffer, rejoice and celebrate alongside you with every Portuguese victory.
I have spent my life working to become the best player in the world. Today, I understand that my greatest victory was the honour of representing the best country in the world.
Thank you for these 23 years. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for giving a boy from Madeira, who once chased a ball, the opportunity to live his dream.
The number 7 shirt will remain. The pride of having worn it will forever be mine. Portugal will always be a part of me.
Forever.
Cristiano Ronaldo
