Confirmed: Real Madrid’s Bernardo Silva becomes Portugal captain after Cristiano Ronaldo retirement

Confirmed: Real Madrid’s Bernardo Silva becomes Portugal captain after Cristiano Ronaldo retirement Real Madrid midfielder Bernardo Silva is now the captain of the Portugal national team following the retirement of Cristiano Ronaldo , manager Jorge Jesus has confirmed. The all-time Real Madrid top scorer announced his retirement from international football on Thursday, bringing an end to a glorious career with the national team. Bernardo Silva becomes the new captain Ronaldo had been the captain of the Portuguese national team for years now, and his retirement, following a falling out with manager Jesus during the last international break, created a vacancy at the top of the leadership group. Now, Real Madrid’s Bernardo has been confirmed as the new captain of the national team as he is the player with the highest number of appearances for Portugal following Cristiano’s retirement. Taking over from Cristiano. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images) The 32-year-old Real Madrid summer signing has 115 appearances to his name, followed by Bruno Fernandes (97), Ruben Dias (84), Cancelo (77), and Neves (73). “In the national team, captains are chosen based on their international appearances. Currently, there are five players with the most international caps. Interestingly, all of them were my players at the clubs I managed,” Jesus said, as quoted by AS . “The logic will remain the same. The player with the most international caps after Cristiano Ronaldo is Bernardo Silva,” the Portugal manager confirmed. “Then there’s Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo, Ruben Neves, and Bruno Fernandes. Not in any particular order, but these are the five who will be captains,” he added. Named in the squad to face Denmark and Wales in the UEFA Nations League in the upcoming international break, Bernardo will now lead the Portuguese national team. Growing in influence at Real Madrid Real Madrid signed Bernardo as a free agent during the summer after his contract at Manchester City expired at the end of the last season. The veteran midfielder endured a rather slow start to life at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Jose Mourinho not calling him on regularly. But that has changed in recent weeks, with Bernardo growing in stature and influence in the side, starting from his impressive display in the 2-1 win over Barcelona in El Clasico . So far, he has made 12 appearances for Los Blancos in all competitions, scoring and assisting one goal apiece.