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Al-Nassr forward, Cristiano Ronaldo has disclosed he won’t reveal to anyone when he will leave the Portugal national team into retirement. Ronaldo made the disclosure in an exclusive interview with NOW, which is set to broadcast later today.
The former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus star is still very much part of the squad of head coach, Roberto Martínez ahead of the Euro Nations League. While admitting that his retirement would be spontaneous, Ronaldo said what is currently on his mind is how to help the national team succeed.
“I am immensely proud to represent our colours, it is a dream. Therefore, when I leave the national team, I will not tell anyone beforehand. It will be a very spontaneous decision on my part, but also a very well thought out one. Right now, what I want is to be able to help the team,” Ronaldo said.
TNG reports 39-year-old Ronaldo struggled to revive his former glories at the last European Championship in Germany. He departed Euro 2024 without scoring apart from in shootouts. Portugal lost 3-5 to France on penalties in their quarter-final.
There will forever be debates about where Ronaldo sits among the greatest footballers of all time in or behind the exalted company of three-times World Cup winner, Pele or the extraordinary talent of Diego Maradona or long-time rival, Lionel Messi. All of them won the World Cup, which Ronaldo has not, but in terms of statistics in national team colours the 39-year-old is out there on his own.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo has made 212 appearances for Portugal. Ronaldo’s 130 goals for his country is also way out on its own at the head of most scored in international football, with Messi recently moving second on the list with 108.
In terms of longevity few can match Ronaldo, who debuted for Portugal in 2003. He was 18 years-old when he came on at halftime to replace Luis Figo in a friendly against Kazakhstan in front of roughly 8,000 in Chaves.
Days earlier he had signed for Manchester United, convincing manager Alex Ferguson of his potential after tormenting the team’s defence in a pre-season friendly. By the next year he was a regular for Portugal as they hosted Euro 2004, upset in the final by Greece.
He is the first to play at six European Championships and his 14 goals in 30 matches is also a Euros record. He won the trophy in 2016 when Portugal beat hosts France in the final. Ironically, in Portugal’s Euros triumph, Ronaldo went off early in the decider in Paris in tears with a knee injury. If you add his goals in Euro qualifying, Ronaldo has scored 55 times in the competition, with Harry Kane next on 29.
At the World Cup, Ronaldo has played 22 times, scoring eight goals in five tournaments, while Messi has played four times more and has the appearance record. In the 21 years Ronaldo has played for Portugal, they have not missed out on qualifying for the World Cup, with a semi-final place in 2006 their best return. That year, Ronaldo netted the decisive penalty to beat England in the quarter-finals.
It has been an extraordinary career, highlighted by five Ballon d’Or awards, and it is not over yet certainly not at club level. Ronaldo top-scored with 35 goals in the Saudi league last season and has another year’s contract at Al Nassr.