Galatasaray forward Rafael Leão has been confirmed to wear Portugal’s No. 7 jersey in the ongoing UEFA Nations League after team captain Cristiano Ronaldo left the Portugal camp following a reported fallout with the team’s head coach, Jorge Jesus, as earlier reported by The Intercept Nigeria.
Rafael Leão has been known to wear jersey numbers 15 and 17 for the Portugal national team, but following the recent fallout between Ronaldo and Portugal’s head coach Jorge Jesus, UEFA has listed Leão as the team’s new No. 7 in the squad sheet, and he is expected to wear the iconic number in Portugal’s game against Denmark this evening. However, there has not been any separate official statement from the Portuguese Football Federation specifically announcing the change.
The 41-year-old forward made his debut for the Portuguese senior national team on August 20, 2003, against Kazakhstan in a friendly match, where he came on as a substitute. Transfermarkt’s match record lists Ronaldo as No. 16 in that match, while its national-team shirt-number history records him as No. 17 for the 2003/04 season.
Five years later, Ronaldo took on the No. 7 jersey from Luís Figo, who had retired from international football after the 2006 World Cup. Transfermarkt records Ronaldo wearing Portugal’s No. 7 from the 2007/08 season, while he had worn No. 17 for the senior national team before then. Ronaldo has since been associated with the No. 7 shirt for Portugal.
Ronaldo played in Portugal’s youth teams before breaking into the senior national team. He has gone on to become Portugal’s most-capped player and all-time leading goalscorer. He helped the country win the UEFA European Championship in 2016 and the UEFA Nations League in the 2018-19 and 2024-25 seasons.
Portugal currently lead their UEFA Nations League group with two wins from two matches and will look to extend their perfect start to three wins from three when they take on Denmark this evening.
