The Portuguese Football Federation confirmed on Thursday that its national team has been converted into a traveling museum dedicated to Cristiano Ronaldo, following his announcement that he is leaving the national side after 178 official matches. Players will now wear the number 7 shirt in rotation, and each training session opens with a ten-minute reading of his farewell message.
Federation officials said the decision followed a three-day emergency meeting in Lisbon. "We considered renaming the squad, the stadium and the coffee machine," said federation director Luís Carvalho. "In the end we settled on a moving display, because trophies cannot train, but they can travel."
The exhibition now occupies four coaches of the national team bus, which has been repainted in his colours. Ticket sales for the first stop in Porto reached the stadium's capacity within minutes, and organisers have already booked seven more cities through the next international window.
Asked what would happen to the team's actual football, Carvalho said that a tactical board showing 124 goals would be placed at the centre of every warm-up. "The goals are not going anywhere," he said. "They will simply sit in the museum with the cups until the coach needs a striker."