Cristiano Ronaldo has called time on his international career as the 41-year-old announced his retirement on Thursday from the national team. The announcement marked the end of a career that spanned more than two decades and six FIFA World Cups. He walks out, having won 2016 Euro Championship and two UEFA Nations League titles.
comes barely a month after his rival and good friend Lionel Messi played his last Argentina match against Benin. However, Ronaldo will continue play club football, and is expected to finish his club career at the end of this season with Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
Ronaldo is in pursuit of his 1,000th career goal, and currently sits on 985. Of those, a record 146 goals came in 234 appearances with Portugal. In a video announcement, Ronaldo said time has come “to hand back the No. 7 shirt of our national team”.
“To the Portuguese people, the day has come for me to hand back the No. 7 shirt of our national team,” the 41-year-old Ronaldo said in a long video message on social media. “I never felt it belonged to me alone but for 23 years I had the privilege and the responsibility of wearing it, defending it and carrying it with me into stadiums all around the world.
“Today the time has come to pass it on to the future. It was not an easy decision because some decisions are not made with the mind alone. They are also made with the heart. A journey that began in August 2003 and changed my life forever has come to an end.”
According to Forbes, Ronaldo’s net worth is $1.2 billion as of November 5, 2026. While most of career earnings are from football, Portugal legend also makes money through a lot high-profile endorsements.
Arguably the world’s most popular athlete, Ronaldo make a name for himself at , and Juventus before signing with Saudi club Al-Nassr in 2023. Based on a Forbes report, Al nassr pay Ronaldo more than $200 million annually, thus making him the highest-paid athlete globally for four consecutive years.
According to Gulf News, earned at least $100 million for 10 consecutive seasons annually, at Manchester United, Juventus and Real Madrid. He first joined Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson from Sporting Lisbon, in 2003 and stayed at Old Trafford till 2009, before joining Real Madrid, where Ronaldo played till 2018.
Post that spent some time at Juventus (2018–2021) before rejoining Manchester United again for one year. The Portuguese star then penned a deal with Al Nassr in 2023.
However, despite his net worth at $1.2 billion, Forbes reported his career earnings (on and off the field) exceeding $2 billion, thus making him the first active footballer to achieve such a feat, ahead of Messi (estimated $1.1 billion net worth). Among the brands endorsed by Ronaldo are Nike, Herbalife Binance, Jacob & Co, WHOOP, Vista Alegre, UFL (Ultimate Football League), Clear (Unilever), SIXPAD and Perplexity AI.
He also has 25% ownership stake in Spanish second division club UD Almeria. Ronaldo also owns CR7 Lifestyle (includes CR7 Underwear, footwear, fragrances, and eyewear) and is a partner with Pestana Hotel Group. The URSU9 – an alkaline mineral water brand, is also co-owned by Ronaldo.
