Cristiano Ronaldo hints 2026 will be his last World Cup

16 years after setting foot in Dublin to make his Real Madrid debut, Cristiano Ronaldo is returning to the city, not as the fresh-faced record signing he once was, but as a living monument to football’s modern era, preparing for his final World Cup.

On Thursday night, inside Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, Ronaldo will lead Portugal against the Republic of Ireland in a match that could seal qualification for North America 2026, his sixth and final World Cup.

“Definitely, yes,” Ronaldo confirmed in an interview with CNN. “I’ll be 41, and I think that will be the right moment to step away from the big competition.”

It is the clearest admission yet that the end is near for one of the greatest players ever to lace up a pair of boots. The man who has spent two decades chasing perfection is now preparing for the only farewell fitting of his stature, on football’s grandest stage.

When Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2009, he was already the world’s most expensive player and a Ballon d’Or winner. What followed was a footballing empire built on obsession, professionalism, and a defiance of age that has become the essence of his legend.

Now 40 and playing for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, he continues to bend the boundaries of time. His record remains staggering: 953 career goals, 143 for Portugal, and a stated ambition to push that tally past 1,000, a feat no player has ever achieved.

“Let’s be honest,” he told CNN. “When I say soon, I mean probably one or two years more.”

Those words mark the twilight, but the fire still burns. His evolution from electric winger to ruthless finisher has allowed him to remain indispensable to Portugal’s new generation, even as the game itself has changed around him.

Ronaldo’s career has lasted so long that it bridges entire eras of football. When he made his international debut against Kazakhstan in 2003, his captain was Fernando Couto, a defender born before England’s 1966 triumph. Today, he leads a Portugal squad featuring players who weren’t even alive when he won his first cap.

Few athletes in any sport have sustained excellence this long. Like LeBron James and Novak Djokovic, Ronaldo has refused to be defined by age, rewriting the limits of endurance and ambition.

Portuguese football writer Miguel Pereira captures it best: “For Ronaldo, time isn’t an opponent, it’s a challenge. His career is not just about records now, it’s about outlasting everything and everyone.”

For all the medals and milestones, the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, five Ballons d’Or, and Euro 2016, the World Cup remains the one that got away. It is the missing jewel in a crown already heavy with history.

Under Roberto Martínez, Portugal’s path to North America is almost complete. Should they qualify, the 2026 World Cup will be Ronaldo’s last stage, one final pursuit of the only trophy he has never lifted.

His influence still looms large: 13 international goals since Euro 2024, countless decisive moments, and an unwavering hunger that has defined his 22 years with the national team.

From a skinny teenager at Sporting Lisbon to a global phenomenon at Manchester United, from a record-breaker at Real Madrid to a cultural icon at Al-Nassr, Ronaldo’s story has spanned continents, generations, and eras.

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Now, as he prepares for the final act, the world once again turns its eyes to him. Whether or not he lifts the World Cup, his place in football immortality is already secure.