Cristiano Ronaldo claims ‘it never crossed my mind’ to retire from Portugal duty

Lisbon: Cristiano Ronaldo says it “never crossed my mind” to retire from international duty with Portugal, with the all-time great embracing criticism.

At 39 years of age, questions have been asked of how much longer the all-time great can continue turning out for his country. He took his record-breaking haul of caps to 212 at Euro 2024, but was unable to add to his tally of 130 goals at that tournament.

Quizzed on whether there was any ever thought of walking away from the Portuguese camp after that competition, Ronaldo – who has stated his intention to play on for a few more years yet – said: “That’s all from the press. It never crossed my mind that my cycle had come to an end. Quite the opposite: it gave me even more motivation to continue, to be honest.”

Ronaldo’s every move is dissected in minute detail, as he operates under the brightest of spotlights, but the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has said of how he responds to any doubters: “Criticism is great because, if it doesn’t exist, there’s no progress, and that’s normal. It’s always been like this, is it going to change now? It won’t, so I try to follow my path, be as professional as possible, help the club in the best way possible with my professionalism and not just with goals, assists, discipline, and example, because football is much more than just playing well or scoring a goal.

“The people who give their opinions have never been in a locker room, I think it’s normal and I often laugh because it’s the same thing as me talking about Formula 1. How can I give my opinion on Formula 1 if I don’t know anything about tires, rims, or the weight of the car… It’s normal and that’s why for me criticism is good and part of it, it’s no problem at all.”

Ronaldo, who wants to reach 1,000 career goals before calling it a day, has been back on target for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr. He is now linking up with Portugal again after being selected by Roberto Martinez for the start of another UEFA Nations League campaign – which kicks off against Croatia on Thursday.