00:00Cristiano Ronaldo announced on Thursday that he is retiring from international football,
00:05ending a career with the Portuguese team that spanned six World Cups and included a European
00:10title and the men's all-time international scoring record.
00:14His announcement marked the end of a Lauda career that began more than two decades ago
00:18before Euro 2004 and ended with him controversially walking out on the national team last month
00:24after falling out with coach Jorge Jesus.
00:28Jesus had kept his star player on the bench for the following match and said he didn't
00:32plan to start him in the next one, leading to Ronaldo's departure from the team's training camp.
00:37The Portuguese Football Federation released a statement expressing deep gratitude and immense
00:42admiration for Ronaldo's service to the country.
00:45While long-time peer Lionel Messi finished his career with Argentina after a much-anticipated
00:49farewell match last month, Ronaldo's final appearance with Portugal ended on 24th of September in
00:55a 1-0 win over Wales in the Nations League.
00:59Like Messi, Ronaldo will keep playing at a club level and is expected to finish his club
01:03career at the end of this season with Al Nasser in Saudi Arabia.
01:07He is in pursuit of his 1,000th career goal and is currently on 985.
01:12Of those, a record 146 goals came in 234 appearances with Portugal.
