THE President of the Portuguese Olympic Committee (COP) today praised Cristiano Ronaldo’s legacy in the national football team, considering that the forward left a mark on the “collective memory of a country” and that he will remain “in some way” forever.
“I confess that, when I saw the video you shared, I felt a deep emotion. Those images don’t just tell the story of an extraordinary athlete”, wrote Fernando Gomes, in a message published on the COP’s official website, in which he states that he would like the image of Cristiano Ronaldo wearing the national team’s shirt to be eternal, adding that, “in some way, it will be”.
The president of the COP considers that the images shared by the captain are part of the “collective memory of a country”, as they revive “joys, tears, achievements and moments in which millions of Portuguese people savored unique sensations”.
“Football is a team sport, but there are players whose impact transcends the game itself. Cristiano is one of those cases”, says Fernando Gomes, highlighting the Portuguese international’s “excellence”, longevity, decision-making capacity, “inexhaustible” ambition to overcome limits and the permanent will to win.
The former president of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) recalls the 13 years he accompanied Ronaldo in that organization, a period during which he witnessed “the pride with which he represented our country and the commitment with which he wore the Portugal shirt”.
Fernando Gomes also highlights that the striker insisted on representing Portugal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, considering that the end of his career in the national team will also be “see you soon”, as he will continue to make history and take Portugal and the Portuguese with him.
“We may never be able to thank everything Cristiano Ronaldo gave us”, writes the COP president, who ends the message with a thank you to the now former captain: “Thank you for everything, Cristiano”.
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 group stage of the League of Nations being announced.
Holder of the world record for national team games, with 234 ‘AA’ caps, and for goals, with 146, the striker’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 player left the 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’s why he decided to leave the internship, a decision that cost him a 30-day ban, already served, and a fine of 255 euros.
