Portugal Pledge to Honour Ronaldo as Bernardo Silva Takes the Captaincy

Portugal pledged to honour Cristiano Ronaldo on Friday as Jorge Jesus named his first squad since the captain's international retirement. Bernardo Silva, the squad's most capped player, takes the armband Ronaldo wore for 18 years.

Ronaldo announced his international retirement on social media on Thursday, November 5, ending a Portugal career of 234 appearances and 146 goals. Jesus named a 28 man squad on Friday for Portugal's last two Nations League group games, against Denmark in Braga on November 14 and Wales in Cardiff on November 17. Seven new faces are in the squad, including five from the Under-21s, but Ronaldo's absence dominated the day.

The pledge to honour Ronaldo

FA president Pedro Proenca promised to celebrate Ronaldo's contribution, with no word on whether he would agree to a farewell appearance. "No tribute will ever be enough to thank him for everything he has done for Portuguese football, for Portugal," Proenca said. "We will do everything we can to honour the legacy he leaves us. Everything he has done deserves to be honoured and celebrated."

Jesus learned of the retirement with everyone else

Jesus said Ronaldo remained in his plans until Thursday's announcement, and that he had not contacted him since. "I found out when we all did," Jesus said. "Until then, I knew nothing about it. He was playing, he was scoring goals; he was one of the players on my squad list."

Ronaldo left Portugal's camp without permission at the end of September, ahead of a Nations League match against Denmark, and did not return, later citing broken promises from Jesus.

Bernardo Silva, captain by caps

Jesus confirmed Portugal's captains are chosen by caps, not by the coach. Bernardo Silva, 32, leads with 115 caps, ahead of Bruno Fernandes on 97, Ruben Dias on 84, Joao Cancelo on 77 and Ruben Neves on 73.

"In the national team, the coach does not choose the captains, they are chosen by their caps," Jesus said. "The player with the most caps after Cris is Bernardo Silva." He added: "Bernardo is a player with a lot of experience, with a lot of quality, who is in good form at Real Madrid. He is a starter in one of the best teams in the world."

New faces: Varela and Mora

Monza striker Gustavo Varela, 21, earned his first Portugal call-up. He leads the Serie A scoring charts with nine goals in his first nine league appearances, and has 11 in his first 10 competitive Monza appearances including cup matches. Roma teenager Rodrigo Mora, 19, is also in the squad, with three goals in his first eight Serie A appearances since joining from Porto, and could earn his first caps this break.

The full squad is: goalkeepers Diogo Costa (Porto), Rui Silva (Sporting CP) and Samuel Soares (Benfica); defenders Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Alberto Costa (Porto), Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Tomas Araujo (Benfica), Renato Veiga (Villarreal), Antonio Silva (Bournemouth), Joao Cancelo (Barcelona) and Nuno Tavares (Lazio); midfielders Joao Palhinha (Benfica), Ruben Neves (Al-Hilal), Mateus Fernandes (Tottenham), Vitinha (PSG), Joao Neves (PSG) and Bernardo Silva (Real Madrid); forwards Pedro Neto (Chelsea), Francisco Trincao (Al-Ahli), Carlos Forbs (Club Brugge), Rafael Leao (Galatasaray), Geovany Quenda (Chelsea), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Joao Felix (Al-Nassr), Rodrigo Mora (Roma), Goncalo Ramos (Milan), Fabio Silva (Borussia Dortmund) and Gustavo Varela (Monza).