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Portugal, 7 November 2026 - Bernardo Silva has been named the new captain of the Portuguese national football team after Cristiano Ronaldo announced his retirement from international football on 5 November 2026.
Real Madrid attacking midfielder Silva, who joined Los Blancos in July 2026 as a free agent from Premier League club Manchester City, is expected to provide leadership following the end of an era for the iconic Ronaldo, who earned 234 caps and scored 146 goals for his country between 2003 and 2026.
His 23-year international career was memorable, as Ronaldo helped Portugal lift their first major trophy.
Now on 985 career goals for club and country, Ronaldo’s target is to reach the milestone of 1,000.
Ronaldo announced his retirement just weeks after a fallout with Portugal coach Jorge Jesus.
While naming his squad for the upcoming international matches against Wales and Denmark, Jesus was asked about the fallout with CR7, as Cristiano Ronaldo is widely known. He said his decisions were always meant well for the team.
“I wouldn’t change anything, absolutely nothing. I made a decision as a coach, putting the interests of my team and the Portuguese national team first,” Jesus said.
“I’m convinced that I didn’t do anything to cause what happened.”
Critics, on the other hand, label Jesus a man of double-speak and a pretender.
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There are claims that Ronaldo was forced to call it quits after assessing his relationship with the coach, and amid alleged attempts by a section of teammates, who were uncomfortable with the star’s presence in the national team, to conspire against him.
On Friday, Jesus called up seven new faces, including Alberto Costa, Antonio Silva, Matheus Fernandes, Carlos Forbs, Geovany Quenda, Rodrigo Mora and Gustavo Varela, for November’s Nations League matches against Wales and Denmark.
The full squad sees goalkeepers Diogo Costa (Porto), Rui Silva (Sporting Lisbon) and Samuel Soares (Benfica) tasked with the important responsibility between the sticks. In defence are stars such as Joao Cancelo (Barcelona), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Alberto Costa (Porto), Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Renato Veiga (Villarreal), Tomas Araujo (Benfica), Antonio Silva (Bournemouth) and Nuno Tavares (Lazio).
In midfield, the squad has Ruben Neves (Al-Hilal), Joao Palhinha (Benfica), Matheus Fernandes (Tottenham), Joao Neves (Paris Saint-Germain), Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) and Bernardo Silva (Real Madrid).
In attack, where Ronaldo was a cornerstone for years, Pedro Neto (Chelsea), Rodrigo Mora (Roma), Francisco Trincao (Al-Ahli), Rafael Leao (Galatasaray), Geovany Quenda (Chelsea), Carlos Forbs (Club Brugge), Joao Felix (Al-Nassr), Goncalo Ramos (Milan), Fabio Silva (Borussia Dortmund) and Gustavo Varela (Monza) will be expected to score for a team that is expected to grow in the absence of its legendary captain.
With Portugal, Ronaldo and his teammates won the UEFA European Championship in 2016, beating France 1–0 in the final in France. They lifted the UEFA Nations League in 2019, beating the Netherlands 1–0 in the final, and won it again in 2025, drawing 2–2 with rivals Spain before winning 5–3 on penalties.
Away from the national team, Ronaldo played for Sporting Lisbon before joining Manchester United and later Real Madrid. After leaving the Santiago Bernabéu, he played for Juventus in Serie A, then returned to Old Trafford for a short second stint before joining his current club, Al Nassr, in the Saudi Pro League, where he is captain.
At 41, Ronaldo’s next mission is to keep playing for Al Nassr as he chases 1,000 career goals. He has scored 985 goals in 1,343 senior appearances for club and country, 15 short of the target.
His hopes of lifting the World Cup at the 2026 tournament, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, ended in disappointment when Portugal lost 1–0 to Spain in the Round of 16.