Cristiano Ronaldo retires from Portugal duty with 146 international goals

Cristiano Ronaldo’s international career ends with 234 appearances and 146 goals. The totals matter, but so does the span: he remained Portugal’s decisive scorer across six World Cups and five European Championships.

Cristiano Ronaldo has announced his retirement from international football, ending a Portugal career that began in 2003. UEFA records his final total at 234 appearances and 146 goals. Those numbers make him both the most-capped men’s international and the leading scorer in the history of the men’s game.

The headline totals are only part of the record. Ronaldo appeared at six World Cups, the most by any player, and scored at five different editions before Portugal’s 2026 campaign. At the European Championship, he made 30 appearances and scored 14 goals—both tournament records.

Longevity changed the shape of the records

Ronaldo’s international career crossed multiple generations of Portugal teams. His first major tournament came at Euro 2004, hosted by Portugal; his final World Cup appearance came 22 years later. Across that span, he moved from a wide forward into a central scorer and captain, while the national team changed coaches and systems around him.

The comparison with Lionel Messi is unavoidable, but it can obscure what is distinctive about each record. Messi has 126 international goals; Ronaldo’s 146 set the current men’s benchmark. The numbers do not settle a debate about who was better. They show how far both players pulled the international scoring ceiling during the same era.

Portugal’s next task is not to replace one number-seven with another. It is to decide how the attack and leadership change without him. A farewell can celebrate what Ronaldo achieved while leaving room for the national team to become something new.