Portugal honour Cristiano Ronaldo with number seven tribute before Nations League tie

Portugal’s players paid tribute to Cristiano Ronaldo before their Nations League meeting with Denmark by entering Braga’s stadium wearing number seven shirts bearing the former captain’s name.

The starting players continued to wear Ronaldo’s shirt during the Portuguese national anthem, in recognition of his contribution to the team. Once the match began, however, they changed into their usual match shirts.

The gesture came after Portugal unveiled a new design for its iconic number seven shirt ahead of the Denmark fixture. The Portuguese Football Federation said the alteration was intended to preserve the version worn by Ronaldo for posterity.

According to The Guardian, the change to the design is permanent and is intended to ensure that the number remains forever associated with the greatest football icon in the country’s history.

The new version includes a horizontal line through the number seven, reflecting the way the digit is commonly written in Europe. A video posted by Portugal showed the change being added to the shirt, symbolising the legacy Ronaldo’s successors will inherit when they wear the same number.

Portugal wrote on its social media accounts: “It’s time for a new number seven to emerge, because one number will remain immortal forever.”

The post also featured a goat emoji, referring to the phrase “greatest of all time”, commonly abbreviated in English as GOAT.

Ronaldo’s international career lasted 23 years. He made 246 appearances for Portugal and scored 146 goals before announcing his international retirement on 5 November this year, following a disagreement with manager Jorge Jesus.

His final appearance for Portugal came on 24 September, when he played in a 1-0 home victory over Wales in the Nations League.

Ronaldo wore the number seven shirt for 20 years of his 23-year career with the Portugal national team. During that time, he became the leading goalscorer in men’s international football.

He also helped Portugal win the first major title in the country’s history at Euro 2016. The team later added two Nations League titles, in 2019 and 2025, during his international career.

Portugal’s tribute took place before its Nations League – Path A fixture against Denmark on 17 November 2026. The same schedule also lists Wales against Portugal and Denmark against Norway in Nations League – Path A matches on 17 November 2026.