Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) said the 2026 World Cup in North America will be his last World Cup.
According to the BBC on the 12th, Ronaldo said this in an interview at the Tourize Summit, a Saudi Tourism Authority event held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ronaldo said, "I will retire from football within one to two years." When asked whether the 2026 tournament would be his last World Cup, he replied, "Definitely. I will be 41 next year, and it will be the final moments in that big tournament." That suggested he would retire after the North American World Cup.
Ronaldo led Portugal to victory at the 2016 UEFA European Championship (Euro 2016). Beyond that, he has won almost every trophy available at club and national team level. He experienced seven domestic league titles across England (three times), Spain (two times) and Italy (two times), and he also won the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League five times.
But he never held the World Cup trophy. Despite appearing five times from the 2006 Germany tournament through the 2022 Qatar tournament, he never won. His best World Cup result was reaching the semifinals in 2006. That contrasts with his rival Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) of Argentina, who experienced the joy of winning the World Cup at the Qatar tournament.
Portugal is leading Group F in the European qualifiers for the North American World Cup. If they win the match against Ireland at 4:45 a.m. Korea time on the 14th, they will secure a place in the World Cup finals.