NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo has reached out to Cristiano Ronaldo after the soccer legend announced his international retirement.

Ahead of the November 2026 international break, Cristiano Ronaldo has announced his retirement from playing for Portugal.

Ronaldo clashed with Portugal coach Jorge Jesus during the last international break – and was subsequently suspended from playing for his country. Now he has decided to retire,

The superstar transcends football, and NBA icon Giannis Antetokounmpo was one of the first to reach out and congratulate him on Instagram.

Giannis left two ‘strong arm emojis’ on Instagram in response to Ronaldo’s retirement announcement.

Earlier this year during the World Cup, Miami Heat star Giannis Antetokounmpo was asked about soccer legends Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Giannis explained that he preferred the Portuguese icon: “For me, I relate more with Ronaldo.

“I was always work, work, work. Fight, fight, fight. So I think Ronaldo, I can relate more to that when I see his story than Messi.”

Giannis also famously hit Ronaldo’s iconic ‘Siuuuuu’ celebration during an appearance at a Nashville FC and Inter Miami game in 2023.

Ronaldo is the record international scorer

Cristiano Ronaldo is the all-time record international scorer with 146 international goals.

Messi is on 126 goals and has also retired from international football, quitting Argentina earlier this year.

Ronaldo is also on a quest to reach 1,000 career goals, a tally he can still hit while playing for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League. He is currently on 985 goals.