LISBON, Portugal (AFP) — Portuguese football legend Cristiano Ronaldo announced on Thursday he was retiring from international football at the age of 41.

Ronaldo made his debut for Portugal in 2003 and went on to play a world record 234 times for his country, scoring 146 goals.

But the forward’s powers have been waning in recent years and he fell out with national coach Jorge Jesus last month after refusing to play him in a Nations League match.

Ronaldo immediately left the team camp and was handed a 30-day suspension.

He apologised and it was rumoured he intended to return to the international fold, but on Thursday the five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or released a video on his Instagram account in which he said he had played his last match for Portugal.

“To the Portuguese people, the day has come for me to hand back the number seven shirt of our national team,” Ronaldo said, as images of his career were played.

“I never felt it belonged to me alone, but for 23 years I had the privilege and the responsibility of wearing it, defending it and carrying it with me into stadiums all around the world.

“Today the time has come to pass it on to the future. It was not an easy decision, because some decisions are not made with the mind alone — they are also made with the heart.

“A journey that began in August 2003 and changed my life forever has come to an end,” he added.

– ‘Will stay with me forever’ –

The Portuguese Football Federation said it would organise a “fitting tribute” to Ronaldo’s “immense career”.

Ronaldo will continue to play for his current club in Saudi Arabia, Al-Nassr, where he is under contract until June 2027.

In the highlight of his international career, Ronaldo won the European Championship with Portugal in 2016 in France, although he had to leave the field during the final with an injury.

“I won Euro 2016 and, for me, that’s just as important as the World Cup. It will stay with me forever,” he recalled.

At this year’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, he scored three goals but Portugal were knocked out in the last 16 by eventual winners Spain.

In a notorious moment at a previous World Cup, a 21-year-old Ronaldo was caught by TV cameras winking at his bench after appearing to exhort the referee to send off his then Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney as Portugal faced England in the 2006 quarter-finals in Germany.

Rooney was red-carded and Ronaldo scored the winning spot kick in the penalty shootout to send Portugal into the semi-finals where they lost to Zinedine Zidane’s France.

His departure from the international stage follows that of his long-term rival, Lionel Messi, who played his final match for Argentina last month.