Cristiano Ronaldo Included in Jorge Jesus’s First Portugal Squad
Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus has included 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo in his first 25-man squad, confirming that the country’s record international scorer has not retired. Ronaldo has scored 146 goals in 233 appearances and will turn 42 before the UEFA Nations League finals. Portugal begin their Nations League Group A campaign against Wales on 24 September.
Jesus, appointed on 10 July after Portugal’s 2026 World Cup round-of-16 exit, signed a contract through the 2030 World Cup, which Portugal will co-host with Spain. His previous relationship with Ronaldo at Al-Nassr may support the veteran forward’s continued role, although Jesus says selections will be based on performance.
The squad also includes four uncapped players: goalkeeper Samuel Soares, midfielder João Palhinha, defender Nuno Tavares and striker Fábio Silva. Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Rúben Dias provide experienced leadership as Portugal begins a new era focused on rebuilding and preparing for 2030.
Neutral
This is a football selection story with no direct connection to cryptocurrencies, blockchain projects or digital-asset regulation. As a result, it is unlikely to produce a measurable short-term effect on crypto prices, trading volume or market stability. Any reaction would probably be limited to sports-related fan tokens or betting markets, rather than the wider crypto market.
In the short term, traders should prioritise broader indicators such as Bitcoin and Ethereum price momentum, ETF flows, interest-rate expectations, liquidity and regulatory developments. High-profile sports announcements have occasionally caused brief volatility in related fan tokens, but those moves are usually narrow and sentiment-driven. Ronaldo’s continued international role could attract attention to football-linked tokens if a relevant promotion or partnership emerges, but no such crypto project is mentioned here.
Over the longer term, Portugal’s rebuilding process and the 2030 World Cup could create marketing opportunities for sports platforms, fan-token issuers and sponsorship projects. However, the article itself provides no evidence of a partnership, token launch or capital flow. The appropriate market classification is therefore neutral.