JAKARTA - Al Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo stated that the 2026 World Cup will be a major tournament in football the last time before hanging up his boots. Before retiring, Ronaldo had ambitions to reach the milestone of 1000 goals.
Ronaldo is racing against time to meet the target of 1000 goals when he is 40 years old. Currently, Ronaldo has collected 953 goals at the club and the Portugal national team. However, the former Manchester United star stated that he would retire in 'one or two years'.
"Of course," Ronaldo said when he was asked about the opportunity to appear in the 2026 World Cup. "And I'm 41," he said in a video call at a high-level meeting of the Riyadh World Turism as quoted by The Sun.
"I enjoy every moment in football. Now, I'm 40, so I really want to enjoy every moment," said Ronalo.
"I really want to continue playing because I am in the best condition. My appearance on the field shows that I am in very good condition," he said.
However, he admits that his 25-year career will end soon. He has won various trophies with Man Utd, Real Madrid and Juventus as well as the Portugal national team.
Ronaldo also made individual achievements by becoming the player who played the most for the national team after playing 225 times and also being the top scorer in football history by scoring 143 goals.
"Honestly, if what I mean is 'immediate', it could be another year or two I'll still be playing," said Ronaldo, who is aiming for the World Cup he has never won.
"In the national team, I still want to score goals. I want to help the team and win trophies," he said again.
Ronaldo was actually almost forced to retire from the national team. Because the old coach Fernando Santos said the national team was too dependent on Ronaldo at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
In fact, there is a narrative that Portugal will be better off if there is no him. The reason is, Ronaldo is considered not to have helped the defense and has the ability to exert pressure.
Santos also blocked Ronaldo against Switzerland in the round of 16. He was not played after showing anger when he was replaced by another player in the match against South Korea. Without Ronaldo, Portugal was eliminated by Switzerland and then Santos was fired.
Substitute, Roberto Martinez, instead recalled Ronaldo and defended him as captain.
As a result, Ronaldo answered that trust by scoring 25 goals in 29 games with Martinez. This achievement was much better than Santos.
The 2026 World Cup will be Ronaldo's last stage. Next, he completed his contract with Al Nassr which ended in 2027.
The new contract has very high value with the Saudi Arabian club making Ronaldo a player with abundant wealth and being the first to have a billionaire status in dollars.
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