Ronaldo, who wore the number and went on to make it his own as “CR7,” retired from international soccer last week, ending a remarkable career that spanned six World Cups, a European title, and the men’s all-time international scoring record.
“Time to debut a new 7. Because there’s one that will be eternal,” the Portuguese national team wrote on social media on Saturday. The post included a goat emoji to signify “Greatest Of All Time.”
It also included a video that showed a horizontal crossed line through the No. 7 as it’s commonly written in Europe, suggesting that Ronaldo’s successors will all have that cross to bear when they wear the number.
Carlos Forbs, the first No. 7 since Ronaldo’s retirement, didn’t start Saturday’s Nations League match against Denmark. Portugal was already assured of reaching the quarterfinals.
