The Portuguese superstar had a historic birthday, but it shows no slowdown and continues to delay any retirement project. Ronaldo remains a prolific presence for the Saudi Pro League team al-Nassr and a precious captain of his country.
We expect CR7 to play up to the 2026 World Cup, with an extension of contract in progress in the Middle East. However, he may have to accept a more important role-especially internationally-if he wants to continue to compete at the highest possible level.
A sacrifice to make
This is a opinion shared by Joao Aroso, who worked with Ronaldo at Sporting CP, and he told Fourfourtwo:
“At this stage of your career, it is difficult to make projections in the medium term. It will depend a lot on the way he feels physically and mentally. Playing another World Cup final is a huge source of motivation for him. Whether decisive or not, this is another question. It can be decisive while playing less than minutes, even without holding each match.
“At his age, recovery takes more time and it is more difficult to maintain high intensity performances for long periods during the matches, as he did once. His ability to understand that he can make a significant contribution, while playing less, could be important in the future. »»
Ronaldo is not the type to fall back, his hard work ethics keeps him at the top of his art for over 20 years. Aroso added about this mentality, which continues to serve Portuguese: “It's his motivation, his passion for wanting to continue playing. Physical capacities help, of course, but it also depends a lot on the mental aspect: the joy he withdraws, the pleasure he finds to train, play and break records. This is what makes the engine run. »»
