Cristiano Ronaldo Steps Away From Portugal, Closing a Record-Breaking Chapter

Cristiano Ronaldo is leaving international football, closing one of the longest and most decorated national-team careers the men's game has seen. For Portugal, the captain who has carried the shirt for nearly two decades is stepping away from the stage that first made him a global name.

BBC Sport has looked back at the moments that defined his time with the national side. The story starts at Euro 2004, when a teenage winger lit up his home tournament and announced himself to Europe. It runs through to Euro 2016, where Ronaldo was forced off in tears early in the final against hosts France, only for his team-mates to grind out a 1-0 extra-time win that gave Portugal their first major trophy.

Few players have shaped a national team the way Ronaldo has. Portugal's identity for much of this century has been built around him, and his records for appearances and goals will be difficult for anyone to challenge. Whatever comes next for the national side, the question now is how it adjusts to life without its talisman.