Portugal begins a new era on Saturday, when it hosts Denmark in Braga in the fifth round of the Nations League, its first match since Cristiano Ronaldo retired from the national team. The No. 7 shirt that the forward wore for so many years will not be left unused, as the team has already decided who will put it on.
The player is Carlos Forbs, who appears with the No. 7 in the official match sheet published by UEFA. The 22-year-old winger, who plays for Club Brugge, will inherit the number from Ronaldo, even though he has yet to feature in this edition of the Nations League.
The decision has a practical explanation. National teams must assign numbers from 1 to 23 to their squads in this competition, so someone had to take the No. 7. Rafael Leao, who would be the natural candidate, is out injured for both of Portugal’s matches in this window.
For that reason, the assignment is expected to be temporary. Forbs has worn the shirt before, but Leao is the one expected to inherit it permanently once he returns. Before kickoff, though, the number will belong to everyone, as the entire squad is set to walk onto the pitch wearing the No. 7 in a tribute to Ronaldo.
Portugal’s official squad list vs Denmark. (uefa.com)
Who has worn Portugal’s No. 7 before and after Ronaldo?
Before Ronaldo, the shirt belonged to Luis Figo, who wore it at the 1996, 2000, and 2004 European Championships and at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. Outside of Figo and Ronaldo, only three Portuguese players have worn it in a major tournament: Figueiredo at the 1966 World Cup, Carlos Manuel at Euro 1984, and Jaime Pacheco at the 1986 World Cup.
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After the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo took it over, and it stayed with him for the rest of his career, two decades in all. He wore it at five World Cups, from 2010 to 2026, five European Championships, from 2008 to 2024, and the 2019 and 2025 Nations League finals. It only changed hands in the rare matches he missed, which is when other players got to wear it.
Gonçalo Guedes did so in friendlies against Mexico and the United States earlier this year, Forbs wore it in the 9-1 win over Armenia in 2025, and Leao used it in the matches against Denmark and Norway last month, when Ronaldo left the national team’s camp.
Ronaldo’s retirement closes a chapter that lasted almost two decades, and the No. 7 now begins a new one. Forbs will carry it in Braga as a temporary solution, with Leao expected to take over later, but the real question for Portugal is who will be able to wear a shirt that rarely belonged to anyone else, and that carries the weight of two of the greatest names the national team has ever had.
