Cristiano Ronaldo takes opposite stance to Jamie Carragher and drops fresh retirement hint
Cristiano Ronaldo has dropped a fresh hint over his retirement plans and has taken the opposite stance to Jamie Carragher when it comes to the national team.
The Portuguese superstar is set to turn 41 in February, but is still going strong for the national team and doesn’t plan on retiring yet.
During 2025, he’s scored six goals in six games for Portugal, averaging a strike every 83.6 minutes for Roberto Martínez’s side.
When speaking ahead of Portugal’s upcoming clash with Ireland, CR7 outlined his passion for the national team and admitted he’d only play for Portugal if given the chance.
“I’ve been with the national team for 22 years; I think that speaks for itself: the passion I have for wearing the jersey, for winning trophies, for playing for the national team,” Ronaldo said.
“I often say: if I could, I would play football only for the national team; I wouldn’t play for any other club because it’s the culmination and the peak of a football player.
“That’s why I’m still here. I want to thank everyone who’s here. So many generations have passed through the national team.
“I see so many former players here who were my team-mates. I see Rui [Costa], Pepe, Jorge Andrade, Beto, [Ricardo] Quaresma… and seeing them, I say: ‘I’m still here.'”
While Ronaldo’s passion for the national team is obvious to see, not every player picks their country over their club.
Indeed, Carragher has often been vocal about how he prioritised his career for Liverpool ahead of playing for England.
“If you asked me now if I’d rather have swapped Liverpool winning the Champions League in 2005 with winning the World Cup with England in 2006, I’d rather have won the Champions League in 2005 with Liverpool,” Carragher told Sky Sports in 2020.
“If I had to pick between Liverpool retaining the Champions League or England winning the Euros, I’d rather Liverpool retained the Champions League – 100 per cent.
“Perhaps that is why I didn’t have a good England career. I’m proud of what I did for England, but it was average and maybe, looking back, I could have done more and maybe that was because it wasn’t the be-all and end-all.
“Club was much more important to me, there’s no doubt about that.
“Maybe I didn’t achieve as much for England as an individual – more caps, more starts – because of my mentality that the club was the be-all and end-all.”
Ronaldo is now closing in on 150 goals for Portugal, but has stressed that he doesn’t have any ‘long-term’ plans in mind when it comes to Portugal.
“It’s about enjoying the moment,” Ronaldo said.
“I know I don’t have many years left to play, but the little time I have, I want to make the most of it.
“I have a philosophy of living day by day. No long-term plans. I enjoy each day and each training session.”
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