Lisbon (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 his powers have been waning in recent years and he fell out with national coach Jorge Jesus last month after he refused to play the forward 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 Portugal fold, but on Thursday the five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or said in a video on Instagram that he had played his last match for his country.

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

“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,” he added.

“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 said.

Ronaldo did not make a direct reference to the messy end with the national team, but he admitted he had made mistakes in his career.

“There were perfect afternoons and nights. There were victories I will never forget. There were defeats that still hurt to remember. I made mistakes; I suffered,” he said.

“There were also moments when I couldn’t give the Portuguese people what they so desperately wanted. But I never gave up. And above all I never stopped feeling proud to represent Portugal.”

- ‘Will stay with me forever’ -

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

Despite leaving the international stage, 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 career in a Portugal shirt, Ronaldo won the European Championship 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 said this year.

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 Lisbon, football fans said Ronaldo had been right to bring down the curtain on his Portugal career.

“The Portuguese are grateful to him for what he has done for the national team, and he realised that it was time to bring his international career to an end. I agree with his decision,” said Feliciano Ferreira, 50, a gas technician.

“As far as I’m concerned, he will always remain the greatest player of all time,” he added.

Ana Motta, a 43-year-old chestnut seller, said she regretted he had not had a better end to his time with Portugal.

“The way he’s left is sad for all of us… but then again, there are surely things we don’t know.”

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