Ronaldo Ends Portugal Career Defined By Obsession And Goals
Cristiano Ronaldo is stepping back from international football with Portugal, closing a career built on relentless goalscoring and an unmatched will to dominate matches. He leaves as the nation's most decorated player and one of the most prolific scorers the sport has produced, his international record standing at 146 goals in 234 appearances - the most caps of any men's player in history.
Ronaldo's path to that record began far from the spotlight. Born on the island of Madeira, the son of a hospitality cleaner and a father who struggled with alcoholism, he left home at 12 to join Sporting CP's youth academy in Lisbon. He struggled in school, was expelled after an incident involving a teacher, and eventually persuaded his mother and his club tutor to let him abandon formal education to focus solely on football. At 15, he was diagnosed with tachycardia, an abnormally fast heart rate, and underwent surgery to correct it before his career could properly begin. water polo betting tips
His full name, Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, includes "Ronaldo" as a tribute from his father to former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Across his career, Ronaldo became the only player to appear at six European Championships, and one of a small group - alongside Lionel Messi and Guillermo Ochoa - to feature at six World Cups. He led Portugal to its only major international title, the 2016 European Championship, won 1-0 over host nation France. Combined across the Euros and World Cup, his 25 goals stand as a record for either tournament. He has scored at least one goal for Portugal in every calendar year since 2004.
Despite that collection of honors, a World Cup title eluded him, and tension with national team management surfaced in recent months after he left a Portugal camp early, followed by a lengthy social media statement. His departure from international duty closes one half of a rivalry with Messi that defined two decades of the sport, and shifts attention to his ongoing pursuit of 1,000 career goals during his time at Saudi club Al-Nassr.
