World Cup farewell: Ronaldo preparing for last dance
Ronaldo, who continues to ply his club trade in the Saudi Pro League for Al-Nassr, told a tourism forum in Riyadh when asked if next summer’s showpiece in the United States, Canada and Mexico will represent his farewell to the grandest of international stages: Yes, for sure, I will be 41 years old and I think that will be the time. I think in this big competition, I don't know... As I said, I'm enjoying this moment.”
10 more years! Ronaldo makes retirement joke
The summer of 2025 saw the five-time Ballon d’Or winner commit to a new two-year contract with Al-Nassr. He intends to honour that agreement while continuing to chase down 1,000 career goals.
As he plays on beyond the age of 42, there is a chance that he will get to grace the same team as eldest son Cristiano Jr - who has already started to make his way through the youth categories with Portugal and has been catching the eye in Al-Nassr’s academy system.
Many have suggested that Ronaldo will seek to emulate NBA superstar LeBron James by playing competitively alongside his child. CR7 has suggested that he will give Junior longer in which to forge a professional career of his own.
The Portuguese GOAT recently told Piers Morgan that a day in which to hang up iconic boots for the final time may not be too far off. He has now joked that when he said “soon” he meant “that will happen in 10 years”. Ronaldo added: “That means soon for me. People think that when I talk about retiring soon it means it will be in six months or a year. I'm just kidding!” He went on to say: “Let's be honest, when I say soon, it probably means another year or two.”