LISBON, PORTUGAL — Cristiano Ronaldo has announced his retirement from international football. In a single sentence, he ended a 22-year debate about the future of Portugal’s most famous shirt.
“The day has come to return the number 7 shirt to our national team, to all of us,” Ronaldo said in a farewell video posted through his official accounts on Thursday.
His career began in 2003 and reached its final stop against Wales last September.
The message was clear. The Madeira missile passes on the torch, leaving the most famous shirt in Portugal’s history vacant in a team now led by Jorge Jesus. But what happens to the shirt now? And could it be retired permanently in tribute to the legend?
What Will Happen to the Number 7 Shirt?
The practical answer arrived before the theoretical question. During the last international break, Ronaldo left the national team camp ahead of the match against Denmark. Rafael Leao immediately took the number 7. That is the clearest indication of what comes next.
The law leaves no vacuum, according to the Portuguese newspaper Record. UEFA regulations require all national teams to submit a final numbered list of 23 players by midnight on the day before the match.
No number can be left vacant. Someone must wear the number 7, and the same applies to every official FIFA match.
So the number 7 shirt stays in circulation, with a new player wearing it in each camp. There is nothing unusual about that. Throughout Ronaldo’s own career, big names such as Nani, Ricardo Quaresma, Fabio Coentrao, Andre Silva, Bruma, Ricardo Horta, and Miguel Veloso wore it in his absence. Meanwhile, the likes of Pedro Neto and Trincao sat on the bench with the same number.
FIFA’s Veto: Why Can’t the Shirt Be Retired?
Here comes the shocking veto. The International Federation of Association Football strictly prohibits the retirement and withholding of numbers in men’s national teams, whatever the stature of the player.
Even an emotional suggestion runs into that wall. Legend Paulo Futre made one last October during the Sports Foundation awards ceremony. “If I were at the football federation I would retire the number 7 shirt. Cristiano must go out in a big way,” Futre said.
FIFA does not allow tributes through withholding numbers in national teams. However, it does allow it at clubs.
Precedents of Refusal: From Maradona to Messi
Portugal are not the first to try, and the outcome will match everyone who came before.
Maradona: In 2001, the Argentine federation submitted an official request to retire the number 10 shirt in tribute to Diego Maradona. FIFA rejected the request outright. Ariel Ortega ended up wearing the legendary shirt at the 2002 World Cup.
Messi: The scenario repeated itself to the letter with Lionel Messi. After he announced his retirement, the Argentine federation requested the retirement of his number 10 shirt. It was refused again for the same legal reason.
Marc-Vivien Foe: The most human case belonged to the Cameroonian who died of a heart attack on the pitch at the 2003 Africa Cup of Nations. Cameroon tried to retire his number 17 shirt, but FIFA refused. Clubs allowed it, so Manchester City retired his number 23 shirt and Lens retired his number 17 shirt. Club regulations are different.
Ronaldo’s Own Story with Numbers
Ronaldo’s own story with numbers proves the shirt does not depend on a single player.
His first appearance came with the number 16 at Chaves. He then wore 17 from Euro 2004 until the 2006 World Cup. That was the number in which he shone until the retirement of Luis Figo, the historic owner of the number 7.
Only from 2007 did the number 7 become his.
Conclusion
Now the era of the number 7 with Ronaldo has ended, but the number 7 itself will not. It will search for a new heir, because FIFA’s rules do not recognise legends when it comes to numbers.
