Bernardo Silva succeeds Ronaldo as Portugal captain

Head coach Jorge Jesus has named Bernardo Silva as Portugal's new national team captain following the international retirement of Cristiano Ronaldo. While announcing a 28-man squad for upcoming UEFA Nations League matches against Denmark and Wales, Jesus explained that captaincy is determined by the number of international appearances.

Silva, who has 115 caps, will lead a five-man leadership group that includes Bruno Fernandes, Rúben Dias, João Cancelo, and Rúben Neves. New Straits Times noted that Fernandes, despite being the Manchester United captain, was overlooked for the top captaincy role.

Jesus stated that he was surprised by Ronaldo's decision to retire and had intended to call him up for the upcoming fixtures. According to Gulf News, the coach learned of the retirement alongside the public and denied responsibility for the decision, despite acknowledging a recent disagreement. Daily Post Nigeria reported that Ronaldo finished his career with 146 goals in 234 appearances.

Portugal is scheduled to face Denmark in Braga on November 14 before traveling to Cardiff to play Wales on November 17. Punch reports that Silva is a Real Madrid midfielder, while New Straits Times describes him as a former Manchester City midfielder.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria, Punch, New Straits Times, Gulf News, Daily Post Nigeria — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.