Ronaldo Confirms 2026 World Cup Will Be His Final Tournament But Hopes for More Play Before Retirement

Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed that the 2026 World Cup will mark the end of his career as a player, though he hopes his upcoming match against Spain in Dallas will not be his final appearance.

Speaking ahead of Monday night’s last-16 clash that will decide Portugal’s quarter-final fate, the 41-year-old said: “Let this be my last World Cup; it is my last World Cup, and I hope tomorrow won’t be my last match.”

The Al-Nassr forward received applause from journalists as he departed the press conference.

Ronaldo later refused to definitively confirm this will be his final World Cup, despite being 45 by the 2030 tournament in Qatar. “I will finish when I choose. You always ask the same question: is this the last one? We will see. I don’t want to draw attention to this, the most important thing is to play well tomorrow,” he said on Sunday.

“I am going to be perfectly honest, regardless of what happens tomorrow, Cristiano is going to be 1,000 per cent leaving with a clear conscience.”

“I have given all I could to football, it’s my passion to play for so many years. I didn’t do it out of need, I’m doing well out of life. It’s about passion. I play for the national team and I love to play football.”

“Regardless of what happens tomorrow I’m not going to exert pressure on myself that I must win. You have to enjoy every match at a huge competition like the World Cup. I think I’m not doing so bad. I’ve scored three goals, others have done better but I think I’m doing not so bad.”

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The former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward has faced criticism for his performances at this year’s World Cup, with Portugal producing lackluster displays across their three group matches. Ronaldo failed to score in a shock opening draw against DR Congo but managed a double against Uzbekistan. Questions over his involvement intensified during a goalless draw against Colombia.

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The legendary Portuguese forward remains his nation’s leading goalscorer and appearance maker with 146 goals in 232 caps. Ronaldo also became the first player to score at six different World Cups when he found the net against Uzbekistan. His penalty against Croatia made him the second-oldest World Cup goalscorer in history and the oldest player to score in the knockout stages.

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