Portugal coach Jorge Jesus says that he had not expected Cristiano Ronaldo to retire from international soccer despite their recent public falling out.

“I thought he would return. I certainly intended to call him up,” Jesus said when he presented his Nations League squad on Friday, a day after Ronaldo announced that he was ending his long and illustrious career for his country.

“He felt that this was the right moment to leave, and that must be respected. We can never overlook what he has meant to Portugal, what he has contributed to the country, or the fact that he serves as a symbol for younger players.”

Ronaldo’s final appearance with Portugal was on Sept. 24 in a 1-0 home win over Wales in the Nations League.

Jesus kept Ronaldo on the bench for the following match and said he didn’t plan to start him in the next one. Ronaldo responded by leaving the team’s training camp.

Ronaldo later apologized. But the Portuguese soccer federation fined him and suspended him from the team for 30 days.

In a long video posted on his social media accounts on Thursday, Ronaldo said “the day has come for me to hand back the No. 7 shirt of our national team.”

The 41-year-old Ronaldo will still play at the club level in Saudi Arabia for Al-Nassr. He is in pursuit of his 1,000th career goal and sits on 985. Of those, a men’s record 146 goals came in 234 appearances with Portugal.

The Portuguese federation said on Thursday that it intends to organize a tribute to Ronaldo, who played in six World Cups and helped his nation win the 2016 European Championship.

Portugal hosts Denmark in Braga on Nov. 14 and three days later visits Wales in Cardiff. Portugal has already qualified for the Nations League quarterfinals.

Jesus took over Portugal from Roberto Martínez after a disappointing World Cup when Ronaldo featured as the point of the attack.

Questions about Ronaldo dominated Friday’s press conference, even though Jesus said he wanted to focus on his team.

He also said he did not take the public split with Ronaldo, an icon in Portugal, personally.

“As for any hard feelings? There are none. Why? Because all of my decisions were made with the team in mind,” he said. “As a coach, I’ve always advocated for what was best for the team, so I’m completely at ease with everything.”

Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (Porto), Rui Silva (Sporting), Samuel Soares (Benfica).

Defenders: Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Alberto Costa (Porto), Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Tomás Araújo (Benfica), Renato Veiga (Villarreal), António Silva (Bournemouth), João Cancelo (Barcelona), Nuno Tavares (Lazio).

Midfielders: João Palhinha (Benfica), Ruben Neves (Al-Hilal), Mateus Fernandes (Tottenham), Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain), João Neves (Paris Saint-Germain), Bernardo Silva (Real Madrid), Pedro Neto (Chelsea), Francisco Trincão (Al-Ahli), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United).

Forwards: Carlos Forbs (Club Brugge), João Félix (Al-Nassr), Rafael Leão (Galatasaray), Geovany Quenda (Chelsea), Rodrigo Mora (Roma), Gonçalo Ramos (AC Milan), Fábio Silva (Borussia Dortmund), Gustavo Varela (Monza).

Reporting by The Associated Press.

For the first time in a long time, we won’t be seeing Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo patrolling the pitch for their respective countries. 

With both icons now retired from international duty, we close out the calendar year that saw Spain lift the 2026 World Cup with a final November window that will feature some top-bill matches, especially in Europe. 

Several heavyweight squads — Spain, England, and Portugal – dropped their rosters for the final matches of the UEFA Nations League group stage. That includes a contest between Spain and England on Nov. 15 in Madrid that will now carry some emotional weight.

Here are my takeaways from some of the more notable roster decisions:

Two recent tragedies in Spain – one off the pitch and one on it – reminded us that there are things in life much bigger than football. Against that backdrop, the defending World Cup champions will use the upcoming matches against Czechia and England to help their nation heal.

Last Wednesday, a train collision in Urda killed 69 people (and injured 200) on a Madrid-Sevilla high-speed line, making it one of the worst transportation tragedies in European history and the second one in Spain this year. Days later, Jesús de Miguel Alameda, the 30-year-old striker from CD Tenerife, the second-division club from the Canary Islands, died after a collision with Andorra’s goalkeeper Jesús Owono in the middle of a match.

As Spain’s squad was announced on Friday, manager Luis De La Fuente and the country’s federation honored the victims of both tragedies. 

“Football must unite us today more than ever. We share the grief of the families of the victims from Urda, and we mourn the irreparable loss of Jesús de Miguel,” he said before announcing his 27-man list. 

Jesús de Miguel’s funeral was held on Thursday at his family’s village as the insurmountable pain was felt across the country, with Spanish and European clubs paying tributes to him throughout the week. 

De la Fuente, who has created a family-based environment on and off the pitch for Spain, was present at the funeral alongside Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez. 

“We wanted to be close to his parents, his wife and daughter. In moments of pain, football comes together more than ever,” said de la Fuente on the day of mourning.

It was a touching moment as Spain will undoubtedly use this international window to unite the country during a period of mourning, especially in the second match against England, held at Atlético de Madrid’s Metropolitano stadium.    

The squad list from Spain, now 42 matches unbeaten and 11 straight victories, comes with a few new additions amid some injuries.

World Cup winners Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Pau Cubarsí and Fermín Lopez are back alongside goalkeeper Joan García to make it five Barcelona players in the squad. There could have been more but Rodri, Dani Olmo and Eric García are injured and there’s no space for Gavi once again as De La Fuente feels the 22-year-old is not quite up to speed.  

Tottenham defender Pedro Porro, who missed the World Cup due to injury, is notable returnee. There will be other fresh faces such as Como defender Jacobo Ramón, who has been instrumental for Cesc Fàbregas’ side (fourth in the Champions League table and Italy’s Serie A), as well as Real Betis duo of Marc Roca and goalkeeper Álvaro Valles. Atlético Madrid’s extremely talented midfielder Pablo Barrios comes back to the squad, alongside Ander Barrenetxea from Real Sociedad.

Harry Kane is back, fresh off winning the Ballon d’Or. But the intrigue in this squad lies elsewhere, most notably whether we see the latest set of brothers share the pitch for England.

It certainly wasn’t surprising that Three Lions manager Thomas Tuchel called up Jude Bellingham to his 26-man roster for the games against Croatia and Spain. Bellingham was a breakout star during the World Cup and the Real Madrid midfield dynamo has kept that form going. 

But the inclusion of the 21-year-old Jobe Bellingham was a pleasant surprise. Jobe has been captain of the Under-21 England squad, and like his older brother did before his move to Madrid, is turning heads at Borussia Dortmund. 

“He found his way, he found his rhythm with Dortmund. He’s had an excellent start to his season, is a regular starter and influential,” said Tuchel, himself a former Dortmund manager.

In case you are wondering, the Bellinghams wouldn’t be the first brothers to share the pitch for England. Gary and Phil Neville both shared the pitch for England (and Manchester United) during the 1990s and 2000s, while Bobby and Jack Charlton were part of the 1966 World Cup-winning side. More recently, Nathaniel and Trevoh Chalobah both played for England, but never alongside each other.

And while the Bellinghams’ England outlook appear to be hitting a second gear, you can’t say that for Cole Palmer.

The Chelsea playmaker seems to be at an impasse with Tuchel after not getting a call for the upcoming matches. He wasn’t included in the 2026 World Cup squad and withdrew from last month’s batch of matches due to injury.

That means the next chance for Palmer to impress Tuchel will be during the March 2027 window, but with just three appearances in the last two seasons, don’t hold your breath on a reunion. 

“The door is always open, but nothing has changed, and we decided to do this camp without him,” Tuchel said.

There is a message about what Cristiano Ronaldo’s retirement from international football should mean for Portugal, who are the defending Nations League champions. It reminds me of what Michael Jordan once said, “I want to be the bridge to the next generation.”

This is why I think Portugal’s window is key, because it’s finally an opportunity to showcase the team’s attacking fluidity without prioritizing the country’s most illustrious player. I understand there is an emotional connotation that comes with Ronaldo’s departure. It is obviously the right thing to do for the entire nation to pay homage to the man who did so much for them, including 146 goals, a Euros title in 2016 and so many other memories. 

These need to be the moments of reflective change for Portugal, from idea to execution. This isn’t a criticism of what this team looked like with their greatest ever player, but rather this is a call to arms to declare what it can finally be without him.

In his 28-man roster, manager Jorge Jesus has called for new blood as the 78-year-old has seven new faces ahead of Nations League matches against Denmark and Wales – including five players from the squad who are entering this team from the under-21 setup. 

Gustavo Varela, the 21-year-old Monza striker who is currently leading Serie A’s top scoring list with nine goals from nine league appearances. In all competitions, Varela — who is attracting a lot of attention from major European sides, has 11 goals and his inclusion is another reason why Portugal is ready for a new chapter.

There is also the introduction of 19-year-old Rodrigo Mora, who has been a fantastic addition at Roma. He has been called up before but never featured, so now this is a great chance for the young attacker to make a name for himself. With PSG’s Nuno Mendes out with an injury, Nuno Tavares has been an absolute weapon for Serie A-leading Lazio.

Then there is the case of familiar names such as Gonçalo Ramos, who joined AC Milan from PSG this past summer, breaking the club’s transfer record. Ramos has scored three goals and one assist for Milan but this window right now, this return to Portugal, is pivotal for him because he will no longer be the shadow of Ronaldo.

But this is a new dawn for Portugal, and it’s important for the likes of Rúben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha, João Félix, Rafael Leão and other members to take this national team to a new level. This is a team that can genuinely win the European Championships in 2028 and perhaps even a first-ever World Cup in 2030. But the need to evolve begins now.

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By the time Cristiano Ronaldo was 12 years old, the decision had been made for him to leave his home on the island of Madeira and move to the Portuguese capital of Lisbon. Here was a boy, who shared a bedroom with his three siblings, the son of a hospitality cleaner and a father who was a war veteran and struggled with alcoholism, ready to take his first main step into the unknown.

There were obstacles when he arrived at Sporting CP’s youth academy. Plenty of them. Ronaldo, in fact, struggled with school so much that he was once expelled for throwing a chair at a teacher. He eventually persuaded his mother on the unthinkable – that education was not a priority and, essentially, he pleaded with her and his Sporting tutor to allow him to quit and focus on football alone. It was obviously a gamble.

He has even said it before. Had he not become a professional footballer, due to leaving school so early, Ronaldo had probably envisioned a life as a local fisherman.

Then there was the heart problem. At 15, he was diagnosed with tachycardia – a condition that caused an abnormally fast heart rate – even whilst he rested. This prompted surgery and was a terrifying situation for a young kid to deal with. But the surgery was successful and from that moment on, Cristiano Ronaldo’s full story began.

Here’s the other fact that most people forget. Ronaldo is not his last name. It’s Dos Santos Aveiro. Ronaldo was a name given by his father in honor of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

I presume it’s only right for Cristiano to have the name as Ronaldo, because like Reagan, he is known for being deeply disciplined with a slightly detached strategy against opponents. Like Reagan, a former actor, Ronaldo has also never been one to shy away from the limelight.

And that’s essentially what turned him into the player he ultimately became.

There is a perfection to Ronaldo’s football that is both inspiring and overwhelming. His search for an omnipotent identity has always been his greatest strength and, at times, his Achilles heel. Whilst Lionel Messi’s diminutive stature and introspective personality captivated fans from one dimension, Ronaldo’s focus was a flawless pursuit of impeccable athleticism and force. His training regime and eating habits are ludicrous to you or me, but it’s his obsession with discipline that gave him this 23-year career on the international stage. 

With regard to his actual game, I have always said that Ronaldo, to me, is the greatest goalscorer and finisher the men’s game will ever witness. And this, my friends, is the hardest job in football. To score goals. 

His 146 goals for Portugal, each one of them, were gigantic statements. Even the penalties. It’s why he celebrates with “SIUUUU” – an exaggerated expression of “si” — the Spanish and Portuguese word for yes. The celebration is an acceptance of grandiosity. A door of pomposity where the stadium, in unison, coronates him after landing on the ground after the 180 degree jump.

The entire notion of the celebration, now glorified and globalized around the world, is Ronaldo’s way of telling the opponent, the stadium, the world, that – at this very moment – he is the one in charge.

The longevity of his career is also something to truly respect and appreciate. When he played his first European Championship, Lamine Yamal was three. Ronaldo is the only player to have featured at six Euros. It’s almost inconceivable to believe that the one he led Portugal as champion (after a 1-0 win over then-host France) came in 2016.

Alongside Messi and Guillermo “Memo” Ochoa, he has also appeared in six World Cup editions (though Messi and Ronaldo were the ones to play in each one). Across the two marquee competitions (Euros and World Cup), Ronaldo also scored 25 goals. No other player has that record. Since 2004, Ronaldo has scored at least one goal for Portugal for 23 straight calendar years. He also holds the record for most men’s international appearances with 234 and his quest to score 1,000 goals will continue during his time with his club Al-Nassr.

These are incredible numbers.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner will retire from Portugal, however, without a World Cup. And this will undoubtedly remain a ghost that he will never be able to scare away. His recent altercation with national team manager Jorge Jesus after leaving camp in the previous window, followed by a lengthy statement on social media, was the reluctance of a once-complete specimen admitting that his powers are dwindling. He just didn’t want to come to terms with it. 

In the same way Narcissus died because of being too enamored with his own reflection, I think Ronaldo’s supercilious personality often became his own worst enemy. 

But this truthfully is what made Ronaldo and why, as I said, he will go down as the greatest finisher in the history of the sport. It’s his selfish, vindictive hunger for goals that built this transformer. Goalscorers, by nature, have to be selfish. They need an ego if they are to succeed and there has never been a higher example of goalscoring success than Ronaldo.

So there you have it. Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Portugal as the nation’s greatest player and alongside Messi, there is obviously a conversation about his legacy as the greatest in history. It’s not up to me to tell you otherwise, either or, but to remind you that in their heyday, we were all blessed with having witnessed the greatest rivalry in football history — perhaps in any sport.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the boy from Madeira who needed to literally slow down his heart, finally accepts that it’s time to put on the brakes and close the curtains on the international stage.

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