Cristiano Ronaldo opens up on football 'retirement' ahead of UEFA Nations League final

Vishal Bhawani

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Cristiano Ronaldo opens up on football 'retirement' ahead of UEFA Nations League final image

Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t ready to hang up his boots just yet — but the end is no longer out of sight.

Speaking ahead of Portugal’s UEFA Nations League final against Spain, the 40-year-old forward was asked the big question: is retirement near? His answer was open, calm, and full of perspective.

Ronaldo said, “My mentality is to live day by day. I don’t have many more years to play… but I’m enjoying the moment.”

He made it clear there is no fixed date in mind. “There’s no day decided for my retirement. I feel happy, I’m here to enjoy and keep going until the day I like this.”

While he isn’t chasing every ball off the pitch like he once did on it, he’s still scoring — and setting new goals.

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Literally. His 137th goal for Portugal recently helped them reach the Nations League final. And he’s now just 13 goals away from the magic number of 150 international strikes.

That would be another record in a career already full of them — and possibly another step toward the 1000 career goals mark he’s publicly dreamed of.

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Rumors linking him to a Club World Cup cameo were quickly shot down. “I will not be at the Club World Cup,” he confirmed.

However, Ronaldo did reveal he was contacted by several clubs, but wasn’t tempted.

“Some teams reached out to me. Some made sense and others did not, but you can't try and do everything, you can't catch every ball.”

As retirement chatter swirls, one thing is certain: Ronaldo isn’t done just yet. Not before 150. Maybe not before 1000. And certainly not before he gives the World Cup one last go in 2026.

Cristiano Ronaldo news and related links

Vishal Bhawani

Vishal Bhawani is a sub-editor for the Affiliate Content team and a writer and sub-editor for the Football Wires team at The Sporting News. Based in Indore, India, he holds a Diploma in Operations and Management from Maharashtra University.

Before joining TSN in May 2024, Vishal contributed to Football Express and Six Sports and ran his own blog, Anfield Home, as a passionate Liverpool fan. An avid traveler, he follows multiple sports, including cricket, soccer, and tennis.