Cristiano Ronaldo has played his last match for Portugal. The 41-year-old announced his retirement from international football on Thursday, delivering the news in an emotional five-minute speech.

The Portuguese Football Federation marked the moment with its own farewell — "Will stay with me forever," per the AFP report carried by Yahoo Sports — closing the book on an international career that redefined what longevity at the top level looks like. Ronaldo left as one of the most decorated and prolific players in the history of the national team, his two decades in the shirt spanning multiple generations of teammates and opponents.

The tributes came fast. Lionel Messi — the rival whose name has been intertwined with Ronaldo's for nearly twenty years — sent a heartfelt message, as did Portugal teammate Bruno Fernandes and several of Ronaldo's former clubs, The Sporting News reports. As the outlet put it, the tributes are only beginning.

Ronaldo's retirement from the international game ends one of football's defining eras. For Portugal, the task now is unprecedented: building a national team without the man who has been its centerpiece since the mid-2000s.