Portugal plan double send-off for Cristiano Ronaldo before Denmark game

Portugal will stage a series of tributes to Cristiano Ronaldo before and during Saturday’s Nations League meeting with Denmark, including a gesture involving the number seven shirt he made famous.

All of Portugal’s players are expected to walk on to the pitch wearing the number seven shirt before the match, according to Portuguese newspaper A Bola. The initiative is intended to recognise Ronaldo’s legacy with the national team.

The decision was taken at a meeting on Thursday involving Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proenca, head coach Jorge Jesus and three of the current captains: Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias and Bruno Fernandes.

The match is part of the fifth round of fixtures in Group D of League A of the Nations League and is scheduled for Saturday evening, 14 November 2026.

Ronaldo made his Portugal debut in August 2003 and recently announced the end of his international career. He brought his 23-year spell with the national team to a close last week, following a major dispute with Jorge Jesus.

Portugal will also stage a tribute in the seventh minute of the match. Supporters at the Pedreira stadium will take part in the symbolic moment, which has already received approval from UEFA.

The game itself is due to be played at the Braga Municipal Stadium.

Ronaldo’s place remains reserved

The Portuguese Football Federation has also decided to leave vacant the room Ronaldo usually occupied at the players’ house at its Cidade do Futebol headquarters.

It will be the first Portugal training camp since the Al-Nassr forward announced his international retirement. The decision forms part of a wider series of measures designed to commemorate his contribution to the national side.

Ronaldo leaves Portugal as the team’s record goalscorer and as the leader of one of the most successful generations in the country’s football history.

Former team-mate defends Ronaldo

Former Portugal midfielder Adrien Silva has rejected suggestions that Ronaldo’s character was driven by arrogance.

Speaking in an interview with Kooora, to be published later, Silva said Ronaldo possessed genuine confidence and ambition, although those qualities had sometimes been misunderstood.

Asked whether Ronaldo’s self-belief and emotional reactions had led people to misjudge him, Silva said: “Sometimes, his immense confidence in himself is misinterpreted. Anyone competing at the highest level needs unconditional belief in themselves.”

The 37-year-old added: “What some people described as arrogance was nothing more than genuine ambition and the natural frustration of someone who hates losing.”