Cristiano Ronaldo Considered Portugal Retirement After World Cup

Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed he considered retiring from international football after the 2026 World Cup before deciding to continue with Portugal, with career goal number 1,000 now just 21 away.

The 41-year-old currently sits on 979 senior goals for club and country and is set to win his 234th Portugal cap against Wales on Thursday night. New head coach Jorge Jesus has already confirmed Ronaldo will start their UEFA Nations League opener at the Estádio José Alvalade.

For most players, getting through a sixth World Cup at 41 would feel like a fairly natural place to stop. Ronaldo, predictably enough, has found another number to chase.

He had already confirmed that this summer’s World Cup would be his last, and Portugal’s last-16 defeat to Spain looked like it could have been the final chapter of his international career too. Roberto Martínez left afterwards, Jesus arrived in July and Ronaldo admitted retirement had genuinely crossed his mind.

“I still believe that I'm able to help the national team to reach what they want.”

That has kept him around for another campaign, but the 1,000-goal mark is now close enough to be impossible to ignore.

Ronaldo doesn’t need another 21 goals for Portugal alone. His 979 total combines club and international football, so anything he scores for Al-Nassr moves him closer too. The ideal version, as far as he is concerned, would be for number 1,000 to arrive in a Portugal shirt.

“Scoring my 1,000th goal for the national team would be the culmination of something, a beautiful story.”

It is easy enough to laugh at the idea of somebody treating 979 career goals as unfinished business, but Ronaldo has spent most of his career making ridiculous targets look strangely normal. He remains a regular scorer for Al-Nassr, scored three times at the World Cup and became the first man to find the net at six different editions of the tournament.

Portugal also have enough competitive football ahead for this to be more than a ceremonial extension of his international career. As defending Nations League champions, they face Wales, Norway and Denmark home and away between now and November, and Jesus has made it clear Ronaldo is still part of his plans rather than simply hanging around for a goodbye appearance.

Thursday’s setting makes the whole thing even more fitting.

Portugal face Wales at Sporting CP’s Estádio José Alvalade, the club Ronaldo joined as a 12-year-old before breaking into the first team. His senior debut came at Sporting’s old stadium in 2002, but the current José Alvalade became part of his story almost immediately after opening in August 2003.

An 18-year-old Ronaldo spent a friendly against Manchester United causing enough problems that the English club signed him for €15 million days later. More than two decades on, he is back at the same ground preparing to start another international match.

That had naturally led to suggestions that Thursday might become a neat farewell. Ronaldo has already shut that down, insisting he will stop when he feels he can no longer contribute rather than because of his age.

So for now there is no goodbye, no testimonial feeling and no final lap around Lisbon. Ronaldo starts against Wales, Portugal begin another Nations League campaign and the chase continues.

979 down. 21 to go.