What we know
What we know: The nature of Ronaldo's international retirement is in stark contrast to his great rival Messi
Compiled Nov 5
What we know
- Cristiano Ronaldo announced his retirement from Portugal's national team via video message on Thursday
- Ronaldo's retirement followed a bitter fallout with coach Jorge Jesus after he walked out on a Nations League call-up
- Ronaldo was fined and suspended by Portugal following the incident
- Ronaldo is the all-time leading goal scorer in men's international soccer with 146 goals in 234 matches
- Lionel Messi also retired from international soccer this year after leading Argentina to the World Cup final
- Ronaldo led Portugal to three major trophies: Euro 2016 and two Nations League titles
What we don’t know yet
- Whether Ronaldo's complaint against coach Jesus was legitimate is left unresolved by the article
- Jesus reportedly did not acknowledge a 'mistake' at a news conference as Ronaldo had demanded
- Debate continued after the World Cup over whether Ronaldo should remain an automatic starter
Open questions
- When and in what form will Portugal's planned tribute to Ronaldo take place?
- Will Ronaldo reach his 1,000th career goal before the end of the season?
- What exactly did coach Jorge Jesus say or fail to say about his 'mistake' regarding Ronaldo?
- Could Ronaldo have continued playing internationally had the dispute with Jesus not occurred?
Drawn from the Associated Press report. “What we don’t know” lists only what the reporting itself flags as unresolved.