26/8/2024–|Last update: 8/27/202403:50 PM (Makkah Time)
Veteran Portuguese international star Cristiano Ronaldo revealed that he plans to end his career with his current club, Al-Nassr Saudi Club, but after two or three years.
Ronaldo has dashed any hopes of returning to his first club Sporting Lisbon by confirming that he plans to stay in Saudi Arabia until he retires.
Ronaldo told Portuguese channel Now on YouTube, “I don’t know if I will retire soon, within two or three years, but most likely I will retire here at Al-Nassr.”
“I am very happy at this club, and I feel happy in this country as well. I am happy to play in Saudi Arabia and I want to continue here,” Ronaldo added.
Ronaldo moved to the Saudi Professional League (Roshen League) in December 2022 after leaving Manchester United.
Ronaldo, 39, started all of Portugal’s matches at the European Nations Cup (Euro 2024) in Germany, where he led the team to qualify for the quarter-finals, before losing to France on penalties.
Ronaldo intends to continue playing for his country, at least for the time being, as he hopes to participate in the team’s next two matches in the European Nations League against Croatia and Poland.
“When I leave the national team, I will not tell anyone in advance and it will be a very spontaneous decision on my part, but also a very thoughtful decision,” the former Real Madrid star said.
“At the moment, what I want is to be able to help Portugal in their upcoming matches. The Nations League is coming up and I would really like to play,” Ronaldo said in comments reported by the PA news agency.
Ronaldo, who has scored 898 goals in his career so far, hinted that he does not want to work in technical management when he retires from playing, saying: “At the moment, I am not thinking about being a coach of the first team or any other team.”
“It doesn’t cross my mind, I’ve never thought about it. I don’t see my future going through this. I see myself doing other things outside of football, but only God knows what the future holds,” Ronaldo concluded.
Dream of playing in the 2026 World Cup
In previous statements, Roberto Martinez, coach of the Portuguese national team, revealed that Ronaldo informed him of his intention to participate in the 2026 World Cup.
The Don reached 200 international matches in the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Liechtenstein.
He became the first player to reach this number, making him the most capped player at international level, beating the record of 196 held by Kuwaiti Bader Al-Mutawa.
Ronaldo played 212 international matches with the Portuguese national team, during which he scored 130 goals, and was crowned with two titles: Euro 2016 and the European Nations League 2019.
Madeira Rocket scored his first goal this season in the Saudi Professional League, during his team’s 1-1 draw with Al-Raed in the first round.
