Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted that time is running out in his football career and rightly insists that next summer’s World Cup in America, Canada and Mexico will be his last.
Cristiano Ronaldo believes he has one or two more years left in his career and says the 2026 World Cup final will “definitely” be his last.
The 40-year-old Portugal international was asked about his future in an interview via video link at the Tourise Riyadh competition on Tuesday and told Piers Morgan Uncensored last week that he would retire “soon”. The player initially joked on Tuesday that “soon” meant “in 10 years”, before adding: “I mean soon… I’m really enjoying the moment. As you know in football, when you get to a certain age you start counting the months very quickly.
“So, I feel good right now. I feel very good at the moment. I scored a goal and I still feel fast and sharp. I’m enjoying playing with the national team and with Al Nasr. But of course, to be honest, when I say ‘soon’ I mean it’s probably a year or two before I’ll be able to play.”
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When asked if the 2026 World Cup will be his last, he replied: “Absolutely, yes, because I’m almost 41 years old and I think that’s going to be the moment in the big tournaments.”
“As I said before, I am enjoying the moment, but when I say very soon, I mean very soon, because I give everything to football. I have been involved in the game for the past 25 years, I have done everything, I have made a lot of records in different scenarios for club and national team. I am really proud.”
“So enjoy this moment and live in the moment.”
The World Cup is the biggest trophy Ronaldo has yet to win in his glittering career, having won the Euros with Portugal in 2016. Ronaldo signed a new two-year contract with Al Nasr in June. Piers Morgan asked Ronaldo when he would retire in an interview aired last week.
“Soon. But I think I will be ready,” Ronaldo said. “Of course it’s going to be tough. It’s going to be difficult, right? Yes. I’m probably going to cry, yeah… I’m an open person.[It’s going to be]very, very difficult, yes.”
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