In a definitive statement, Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed that the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup 2026 — to be hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico — will be his last appearance in a major international football tournament.
At age 40, playing for Al‑Nassr in Saudi Arabia and leading the Portugal national football team, Ronaldo announced during a global tourism summit in Riyadh that he views that World Cup as his swansong on the world stage. He stated: “Definitely, yes. I will be 41 years old … and I think [this] will be the moment in the big competition.”
Ronaldo’s decision arrives after a storied career spanning more than two decades. He is the all-time leading male international goalscorer — having netted 143 goals for Portugal — and has accumulated over 950 goals for club and country. With the 2026 World Cup, he is poised to make his sixth World Cup appearance, a rare feat in men’s football.
In the same discussion, Ronaldo clarified his retirement timeline: when asked how long he plans to continue playing, he answered that by “soon” he means approximately one or two years. While he has extended his club commitment, his international tournament chapter is firmly capped at 2026.
For Portugal, the timing is significant. The World Cup remains the one major honour missing from his trophy cabinet — he has won the 2016 UEFA European Championship and the 2019 & 2025 UEFA Nations League, among other titles. By declaring 2026 as his last major international campaign, he places himself in a final push mode — both to add the ultimate prize and to exit the international stage by choice.
Ronaldo will aim to carry Portugal into the World Cup, chase that elusive global trophy, and then draw the curtain on his major international career — all while potentially playing at club level for a short time beyond.
The Information is Collected from BBC and CNN.
