From Siu to you: Cristiano Ronaldo says goodbye to international football

FILE PHOTO: Football Football – Euro 2020 – Group F – Portugal vs. France – Puskas Arena, Budapest, Hungary – June 23, 2021 Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates his second goal The iconic “Siu” celebration will no longer be heard on the international stage. Not all curtains are merry spectacles, a crowded arena cheering the last hurray of an artist par excellence. Cristiano Ronaldo lived his shining moments in the cauldrons of Stade de France, Porto, Gelsenkirchen, Luzhniki, Wembley, Bernabeu or Munich’s Allianz Arena.On Thursday, the Portuguese superstar announced his intention to retire from the country’s national team in a post on social media, ending one of the most illustrious careers in football history. “The day has come for me to return the number 7 jersey of our national team,” he wrote in the 866-word message. “I never felt like it belonged to me alone. But for 23 years, I had the privilege and responsibility of wearing it, defending it and carrying it with me to stadiums around the world.”“Today is the time to hand it over to the future… The journey that started in August 2003 and changed my life forever has come to an end. When I look back at everything with the national team, I don’t just see matches, goals, records or trophies.”Everyone expected him to say “obrigado” at Dallas Stadium after Portugal lost to Spain in their last World Cup match on 6 July 2026. It was his 27th appearance in a record six tournaments (2006–2026), making him the oldest player in a World Cup knockout match at the age of 41.Instead, Portugal’s great, if not the greatest, waited for his bete noire Lionel Messi to sail into the twilight of the Monumental Stadium, waited for national coach Jorge Jesus’ regal disregard to force him into an ugly spat, a chase to the airport, to talk him back. Cristiano has been making headlines for the wrong reasons lately.Images of Cristiano struggling in the penalty box have long overshadowed his prodigious prowess, which saw him claim five Ballons D’Or to Messi’s eight. Their one-upmanship game spanned two decades and had the world gasping. Generation Z is split down the middle over Portuguese and Argentines. It will take several years for the discourse to die out.No male footballer has made as many international appearances (234) or scored as many goals (146) for his nation as Ronaldo. As a testament to his longevity — 94 of them came after his 30th birthday.The five-time Ballon d’Or winner made his international debut in 2003 and in 2016 won the European Championship with Portugal in addition to two Nations League titles.Ronaldo scored three goals at this summer’s World Cup as his nation advanced to the last eight.To recall his great matches would be an exercise in academic drudgery. A hat-trick against Spain in Sochi 2018 and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s World Cup qualifying goals against Sweden in 2013 are just the tip of the iceberg.So are moments of irony. In 2012, Luis Nani missed one on the tray offered to him by Cristiano in the Euro semi-final against Spain. Portugal lost. Four years later, Cristiano’s final against France ended with heartache, injury and a 25-minute substitution. Portugal won their first continental title.Before Ronaldo, the senior Portugal team had never won anything, only reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup twice, in 1966 and 2006 (his first World Cup). Under his leadership, they won three trophies in nine years.Madeira, his birthplace, has a museum in tribute to its most famous son. Like Santos, he has one for Pele.The accolades will continue to flow and the “Siuuu” celebration will be repeated by boys around the world for years to come.Ronaldo, like Messi, will play at club level for now and is expected to end his club career at the end of this season at Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia. He is aiming for his 1000th career goal and currently sits at 985. Immortal desires refuse to die.His farewell post reads: “Goals disappear. Trophies end up in museums. Records are eventually broken. But there is something that time will never erase: the place we hold in people’s hearts.”