Cristiano Ronaldo calls time on his Portugal career

Cristiano Ronaldo is done with international soccer. The Portugal forward announced his retirement from the national team, according to the Associated Press, ending a run that stretched across two decades and five World Cups.

The announcement lands with the weight you'd expect. Ronaldo has been the center of Portugal's setup for most of his adult life, its captain, its talisman and the man opponents built entire game plans around. He is the leading scorer in the history of men's international soccer, a mark he pushed further out of reach every time he pulled on the red shirt.

His international résumé includes Portugal's first major trophy, the European Championship in 2016, and a Nations League title in 2019. He exits having redefined what a long international career can look like — and having made Portugal a genuine contender on the world stage rather than a plucky outsider.

What comes next belongs to Portugal's next wave. The national team now has to figure out life without the player who defined it for a generation, while Ronaldo, who has been playing his club soccer at Al Nassr, turns his full attention to the club game.

For fans, the exit is the end of an era in international soccer — and one less reason to tune in for the next Portugal match.