Portugal changes how No. 7 is written to honor Cristiano Ronaldo

The Portugal soccer team is making a change to how the No. 7 is written to honour the recently retired Cristiano Ronaldo.

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.

There were tributes to Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, before the match, when all the Portugal players and the children who accompanied them on the field wore his No. 7 jerseys.

A huge banner saying “OBRIGADO CAPI7ÃO" (thanks captain with a 7 where the T should be), with pictures of Ronaldo celebrating, emphasised the message.

The 41-year-old Ronaldo quit on Nov. 5 after falling out with coach Jorge Jesus. His last appearance with Portugal was Sept. 24 in a 1-0 home win over Wales in the Nations League.

Jesus kept him on the bench for the following match and said he didn’t plan to start him in the next one, so the superstar forward decided to leave the team’s training camp.

Jesus later said Ronaldo would be welcome back and the decision to return was up to him.