Wristiano Ronaldo announced, this Thursday, his goodbye to the national team. In a statement, issued on social media, the Portuguese star said he made this decision with “his head”, but also with his “heart”.
“To the Portuguese, the day has come to give back the number 7 jersey of the national team to all of us. I never felt it as exclusively mine. But for 23 years I had the privilege and responsibility of wearing it, defending it and taking it with me to stadiums all over the world. Today the time has come to hand it over to the future. It was not an easy decision, because there are decisions that are not just made with the head. They are also taken with the heart.
It ends a journey that began in August 2003 and changed my life forever. When I look back and think about everything I experienced in the national team, I don’t just see games, goals, records or trophies. I see people. I see emigrants who, for 90 minutes, felt Portugal a little closer. I see millions of Portuguese people who I have never met in person, but who were part of my life. Because at the end of the day, football is much bigger than a game. Football is people.
Throughout my career with the national team, I tried to overcome my limits. I wanted to win, I wanted to be the best, I wanted to make history. I’ve always been demanding of myself. I always wanted more, I always believed we could go further. And I gave everything I had for this shirt. There were perfect afternoons and nights, there were victories that I will never forget, there were defeats that I still find difficult to remember. I also failed, I also suffered, there were also times when I was not able to give the Portuguese what they so desired. But I never gave up. And, above all, I never stopped feeling proud to represent Portugal.
Over the years I have learned very simple things. Goals pass, cups stay in museums, records end up being broken. But there is something that time can never erase, the place we occupy in people’s hearts. If I ever made you happy, if ever a goal from me made you hug someone, forget a (difficult/pig time), guys, I felt proud of our country, then it was all worth it. Because being Portuguese is also that. We suffer together, we rise together. We believe again.
Portugal will always need young people who dream of it, players who never give up, new generations who believe that it is possible to reach where no one has reached. Because a country that continues to create new heroes is a country that never stops believing in itself.
To my teammates on this team, I want to leave a special word. Thank you for every run, for every hug, for every discussion, for every silence before taking the field. For every victory we celebrated together and for every defeat that made us stronger. I had the privilege of being your captain. But no captain walks alone. And you are part of my story.
To all the coaches, managers, doctors, physiotherapists, wardrobes, staff and so many people who have worked with me over the years, thank you. Many of you have never appeared in these photographs. But without you, none of these photographs would have been possible.
To my family, thank you for sharing this dream with me. Thank you for understanding the absences, sacrifices and the moments in which the team had to occupy a space that also belonged to you. If I got this far, it was because we were always holding hands.
And to the Portuguese, to all the Portuguese around the world, I want to tell you one last thing. There is an image that I will always carry with me. The moment when the national anthem begins. I look around me, I see my teammates, I see the stands, I see children, mothers, fathers and grandparents. I see Portuguese people who came from so far away just to be there. And during those minutes, we stopped being different. There are no clubs, there are no colors, there are no classes, there are no professions, there are no opinions. There is only one passion, Portugal.
This is the feeling that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Today my journey on the field with the national team ends, I leave with my head held high, with pride in the path I took and with the knowledge that I gave everything I had for Portugal. But I will never stop being one of you, I will continue to suffer, vibrate and celebrate each of Portugal’s victories with Yes.
I spent my life working to be the best player in the world. Today I realize that the greatest victory was having deserved to represent the best country in the world. Thank you for these 23 years. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for allowing me to live a dream that began when I was just a boy in Madeira, chasing a ball. Shirt certifies, the pride of having worn it will be mine forever. Portugal will always be in me. Until forever. Cristiano Ronaldo.”
