THE Former Portuguese international Hugo Almeida said today that Cristiano Ronaldo deserved “a farewell worthy of a king”, for what he gave to the Portuguese football team and for considering him the best world player of “all time”.
The former striker, who scored 19 goals in 57 matches for the ‘quinas’ team, acknowledged that he was “very sad” with the announcement of ‘CR7’, in a video released today on his social networks, as he considered that the 41-year-old Madeiran, world record holder for national team games, with 234 ‘AA’ caps, and for goals, with 146, deserved more.
“A person like him, who gave so much to the country and the national team, should have a farewell worthy of a king, but if he thought it was the best decision and that he is at peace with it, I unconditionally support his decision. There are players and people who come and go, but Ronaldo will forever be talked about and remembered as the best Portuguese and world player of all time”, he stressed, in a statement sent to Lusa.
The former striker for FC Porto, União de Leiria, Boavista, Académica, Werder Bremen and Besiktas also recalled a “kind, calm and playful” person, who was “easy to get along with” and who made all his colleagues feel “better” when they entered the field to represent the ‘quinas’ team.
“It was a ‘shield’, a protection, that made us all feel the best, because he made us feel that way”, he pointed out.
The 42-year-old former player also highlights the triumph at home to Sweden, on November 19, 2013, for the second leg of the play-off to access the 2014 World Cup, in which a hat-trick by Cristiano Ronaldo sealed the triumph (3-2) and the consequent Portuguese presence in Brazil, as the most memorable game in which he participated with the ‘star’.
“We all worked, because we knew he was going to make a difference, which he ended up happening”, he admits.
World record holder for national team games, with 234 ‘AA’ caps, and for goals, with 146, Cristiano Ronaldo’s career highlights include winning Euro2016, in France, as well as two editions of the Nations League, in 2019 and 2025, after the bad-memory final of Euro2004, at home.
On September 30, the striker left the Portuguese national team training camp on the eve of the match against Denmark in the League of Nations, at the beginning of Jorge Jesus’ cycle as coach of the national team.
Ronaldo, who was a starter with Wales and an unused substitute with Norway, revealed that Jesus failed to speak to him more than once and that is why he decided to leave the training camp on his own initiative, a decision that cost him a 30-day ban, already served, and a fine of 255 euros.
The last game for the ‘quinas’ team ended up being the triumph against Wales (1-0) played on the 24th of September, in the first round of Group A4 of the League of Nations, more than 23 years after the debut on the 23rd of August 2003, in Chaves, in a friendly against Kazakhstan.
The last goal with the Portuguese shirt was scored in the victory against Croatia (2-1), in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup, on July 3, in Toronto, by converting a penalty.
