Ronaldo, embroiled in 'leaving the national team', eventually retires from the Portugal national soccer team

Portuguese soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo (41, Al Nasr) announced his retirement from the national team.

It has been about a month since he caused a stir by leaving the team without permission during a national team call-up.

Ronaldo announced on Instagram on the 5th (Korean time) that he would retire from the national team. Major foreign news outlets, including AP, AFP, and Reuters, all reported this urgently.

Ronaldo, who debuted for the Portuguese national team in 2003 at the age of 18, played in 234 international matches and scored 146 goals. Both categories are the highest records in men's soccer history.

Ronaldo, who was the center of the Portuguese national team for over 20 years, participated in the World Cup six times and contributed to winning the 2016 Euro (European Football Championship) and the Nations League twice.

Ronaldo said that the 2026 North and Central America World Cup, which ended in July, was his last World Cup, but he has avoided giving a definite answer about his retirement from the national team.

He was called by coach Jorge Jejus, who took office after the World Cup, and was named to the UEFA Nations League (UNL) roster during the September-October international match period.

Ronaldo started in the first UNL game against Wales on September 25 and played 67 minutes, but only stayed on the bench in the second game against Norway three days later.

It seemed that Ronaldo was gradually being pushed out of Coach Jejus' plan.

When coach Jesus announced that he would not be selected as a starter in the third game against Denmark, Ronaldo left the national team's training camp without permission.

In a long post posted on social media, Ronaldo later claimed, "Coach Jesus broke his promise twice."

However, he apologized to his teammates, saying, "My actions deserve to be punished, but I am not retiring from the national team."

On the 20th of last month (Korean time), the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) suspended Ronaldo for 30 days and fined him 255 euros (about 380,000 won).

The disciplinary action was applied retroactively and was lifted at the end of October, so it did not hinder Ronaldo from playing international matches in November.

Coach Jejus also left the door open for a return, saying, “Ronaldo can return to the national team if he wants.”

However, Ronaldo chose to end his national team career on his own.

Portugal, who secured an early advance to the quarterfinals by winning all four games in the UNL in September and October even without Ronaldo, will play the last two group stage games against Denmark on the 15th and Wales on the 18th.