Prominent figures from football and beyond paid tribute to Cristiano Ronaldo after he announced his retirement from international football on Thursday.
The 41-year-old ended his 23-year Portugal career with 146 goals in 234 appearances, both records in men’s international football.
He captained Portugal to their first major trophy at Euro 2016 and led them to Nations League titles in 2019 and 2025.
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Under his Instagram post of the retirement announcement, Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes called Ronaldo his “childhood idol” and said it had been a privilege to play alongside him for his country.
Pepe, who shared a dressing room with Ronaldo for Portugal and Real Madrid, thanked him and said their time together had been about more than football.
Former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand wrote “it was a movie bro”, while Sergio Ramos urged Ronaldo to enjoy other things in life.
Neymar kept his response to one word, writing “lenda” (Portuguese for “legend”) while Vinicius Junior called him “forever number one”.
Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proenca said the door would always be open to Ronaldo, whom he called “forever, our captain”.
Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said Ronaldo’s achievements for Portugal would “echo in eternity”.
Two of Portugal’s Olympic medallists also paid tribute, with canoe sprinter Fernando Pimenta saying he was glad he had seen Ronaldo score in person and judo bronze medallist Telma Monteiro thanking him for the inspiration.
Former world middleweight boxing champion Gennady Golovkin called Ronaldo “a true legend”, while former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou wrote “GOAT”.
American streamer IShowSpeed, a longtime Ronaldo fan, posted a video tribute.
Sporting, Manchester United and Juventus also marked their former player’s international farewell across social media.
Al Nassr, where Ronaldo will continue playing in the Saudi Pro League, said they still had history to make together.
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