Sports•about 3 hours ago

Ronaldo hands back Portugal's No. 7 after 23 years. Can anyone ever replicate his legacy?

On Thursday, 5 November, Cristiano Ronaldo announced in a video message that he is retiring from international football. "To the Portuguese people, the day has come for me to hand back the No. 7 shirt of our national team," he said - a journey that began in August 2003, when he came on for Luís Figo in a friendly against Kazakhstan. He is still playing club football for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia.

For Portugal

  • 234 caps - the most in men's international football, and he was the first man to reach 200.

  • 146 goals - the men's international scoring record.

  • Six World Cups, and the first man to score in six of them.

  • Euro 2016 - Portugal's first major trophy - and the Nations League in 2019 and 2025.

  • Record totals at the Euros: 30 appearances and 14 goals.

  • He scored for Portugal in 23 consecutive calendar years.

For his clubs

  • Five Ballon d'Or awards.

  • Five Champions League titles - one with Manchester United (2008) and four with Real Madrid - and the competition's all-time top scorer.

  • League titles in England, Spain and Italy, with Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.

  • About 985 official career goals so far, and he is chasing 1,000.

Football has changed since 2003: more matches, more data, more money, earlier specialisation and more injuries. Will another player ever put together a career like this one - this many goals, this many trophies, at this level for this long?

Where do you stand? Vote, then share your opinion - and say what would change your mind.

Reader vote

Join the discussion

Pick a side and say why - the strongest reasons change minds.

3 opinions · 3 votes · 3 people

Log in to add your opinion to this debate.

Opinions (3)

about 3 hours ago

The stats are hard to replicate

about 3 hours ago

definitely, among the GsOAT

about 3 hours ago