Cristiano Ronaldo leaves the national team: Rafael Leão takes over the number 7

Superstars and their shirt numbers are often a special relationship. Few other athletes are as closely linked to the number on the jersey as Cristiano Ronaldo; everyone knows the Portuguese as “CR7”.

It is all the more remarkable that just a few hours after Ronaldo's departure from the team's headquarters, his national team reassigned the legendary jersey number. In the Nations League game in Denmark tonight, Rafael Leão will play with the 7 on his back and chest. This is evident from the official squad lists for the game in Copenhagen. The 27-year-old Rafael Leão has been storming for Galatasaray Istanbul alongside Leroy Sané since this season.

Background to the departure: After sitting on the bench in the 2-1 win in Norway and not being given a place in the starting eleven against Denmark, Ronaldo left the Portuguese team headquarters on the eve of the Denmark game. He flew to Madrid on a private plane and will probably no longer play for the national team.

Coach Jorge Jesus said at a press conference: "It seems as if there was a problem between us, but there was no problem." Ronaldo himself announced on Instagram that he wanted to comment on the issue in more detail: "In due course I will tell all Portuguese people the truth about the reasons that motivated me to leave the national team, for which I have always sacrificed myself."