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Analysis
- 13 Sep 2026
'Superman' Ronaldo backed to retire on his own terms
Updated: 14 Sep 2026 10:29 CDT |
8 min read
News
Cristiano Ronaldo has been backed to play professional football for as long as he sees fit despite now being in his forties.
The Portuguese is recognised as one of the greatest players in history and emerged as one of the best in the world during his time at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson. At Old Trafford, he won three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, two League Cups and the 2008 Champions League, while also winning his first Ballon d'Or in 2008.
In 2009, Ronaldo joined Real Madrid for a then-world-record transfer fee. This became the most prolific period of his career, as he scored 450 goals in 438 appearances for Los Blancos. He won four Champions League titles, two La Liga titles and three Club World Cups with Madrid, as well as four more Ballon d'Or awards. He also became Real Madrid's all-time leading goalscorer.
CR7 moved to Juventus in 2018, winning two Serie A titles before returning to Manchester United in 2021. He later joined Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia in 2023. Internationally, he has been Portugal's greatest player ever, winning Euro 2016 and the 2025 Nations League, while becoming the men's all-time leading international goalscorer.
At 41, he is in the twilight of his career, though he still continues to bang in the goals for Al-Nassr. His pursuit of 1,000 career goals has been well-documented.
And, he has been backed to play even beyond that milestone by former team-mate Wes Brown, who compared him to the Man of Steel.
“He is like Superman and he just doesn't stop. He doesn't break and he's achieving something that he's always wanted to do," Brown told GOAL.
“He's got the right mindset for it and he'll keep on going until he breaks down basically. Yes, the goals are not as quick and as fast nowadays, but he still scores.
“He's still better than a lot of the strikers out there. Is he in his prime? No. But for him, luckily he's got that aura to keep going as well and he won't give up. He'll still believe he can score every game he goes into.”
In August, Ronaldo indicated that retirement was on the horizon, however.
"This is probably my last year of football, and I want to leave a spectacular legacy," he told Vogue shortly before getting married to his partner of 10 years, Georgina Rodriguez.
"I have my future all mapped out. I have so many things to keep me busy that to tell you just one thing is hard.
"Because football could leave a big hole, you have to fill your time in various ways, not just one. And also have more fun, travel more, watch and play padel, which I really like, and continue to enjoy what I've earned -- what we've earned.
"Because after all it's been 25 years with a lot of sacrifice."
Ronaldo has scored 979 goals in all competitions over the course of his career, so far.
