Lionel Messi Exits Gracefully; Shall Cristiano Ronaldo Be Blessed with a Dream Farewell?

At the moment, Ronaldo’s international future is uncertain. While it has been declared he can return to the national side anytime, it remains to be seen if Ronaldo does as he said he will only do so if Jesus goes. So, an international farewell may be difficult. Messi got his grand exit and left with grace; Ronaldo may never even get one the way things are going.

Ronaldo’s latest game for Portugal was vs Wales in the Nations League. He missed an easy goal and had one ruled offside before being substituted. He was benched for the Norway game and then left the camp. Later on, he came clean on broken promises from the coach and said sorry to his teammates and was ready to be fined. He does face the prospect of a long ban though a legal loophole could reduce it.

With 146 goals in 234 games, Ronaldo leads the pack in men’s football. He was the 1st to play 200 games at international level and the 2nd to break the 100-goal barrier. Four more shall make him the first man to score 150 international goals. But it remains to be seen how many more games he plays for Portugal, if at all.

In 2016, Ronaldo led Portugal to their first international title when they became European Championship winners. In 2019, he led them to the UEFA Nations League title and repeated the feat in 2025. But sadly, despite six attempts, Ronaldo could not win the FIFA World Cup. He shares the appearances in most editions with Messi and is the only player to have scored in six different editions.

In the twilight of his career, the retirement match looks uncertain. It can still happen, but a lot of things will need to happen. Messi was actually pulled out of retirement to play one last game by Argentina. Will Ronaldo get his grand farewell? The uncertainty continues.

Lionel Messi finished with 126 goals in 208 goals for Argentina.

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 146 goals in 234 games for Portugal.

Lionel Messi’s last international was vs Benin and Argentina won 3-0.