THE midfielder Bernardo Silva, the new captain of the Portuguese football team, said today that it was a “pride and pleasure” to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and pointed to his predecessor with the armband as an “inspiration”.
“It was undoubtedly a great pride and pleasure to have played alongside you for so many years. You are an inspiration to all of us. Thank you very much for everything”, reads a post on Bernardo Silva’s official page on the social network Instagram.
With Ronaldo’s goodbye, Bernardo Silva, aged 32 and with 115 games, becomes Portugal’s new captain, followed by fellow midfielder Bruno Fernandes, with 97, and central defender Rúben Dias, with 84.
With Ronaldo already absent, after abandoning the national team training camp in Copenhagen, Bruno Fernandes, in Nations League games, wore the armband against Denmark (4-2) and also against Norway (2-1), as Bernardo Silva started these matches on the bench.
Against the Norwegians, at the Estádio do Dragão, in Porto, Bernardo Silva was introduced into the match during the second half, with Bruno Fernandes making a point of immediately handing over the armband to the current Real Madrid player.
Only João Moutinho is active with more caps (146) than Bernardo, but the 40-year-old midfielder, who plays for Sporting de Braga, has been away from the national team for a long time (his last game was in September 2022).
The one who now joins the captains’ lot is full-back João Cancelo, as he has played fourth most games, with 77 caps.
Striker Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, announced today his withdrawal from the Portuguese football team, through a video posted on his social networks, on the eve of the squad for the last two games of the Nations League qualifying phase being announced.
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 becoming European runner-up at Euro2004, held in Portugal.
On September 30, the striker left the Portuguese national team training camp on the eve of the Nations League match against Denmark in Copenhagen, 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 September 24th, in the first round of Group A4 of the League of Nations, at the José Alvalade Stadium, in Lisbon, more than 23 years after the debut on August 23rd, 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, Canada, by converting a penalty.
