Cristiano Ronaldo provides straightforward response to retirement question in new podcast
Al-Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo has said that retirement is not in his thoughts at the moment. The 39-year-old is a bonafide legend of the game and one of its most lethal goalscorers.
With nearly 900 goals for club and country, Ronaldo is the most prolific goalscorer in history. However, at 39, he isn't getting any younger, having announced at last month's Euros that he was playing his final European Championship.
His retirement, though, isn't imminent, as the Al-Nassr captain said that his ability to dribble, shoot, score and jump high are intact, saying as per TCR:
“I feel until now that I can dribble, shoot, score, and jump high. The day I feel unable to do that, I will take my bag and quit football, but I am far from this thing. I have scored 50 goals last season."
In an episode uploaded on his newly launched YouTube channel, UR Cristiano, on Wednesday (August 28), Ronaldo told his former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand that he hopes to reach the incredible milestone of 1000 career goals.
Following his free-kick goal in Al-Alami's 4-1 Saudi Pro League win at Al-Feiha on Tuesday (August 28), the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is now on 899 strikes for club and country. It's pertinent to note that six of these strikes came in the club's Arab Club Champions' Cup triumph last year.
Cristiano Ronaldo shares thoughts on moving to the Saudi Pro League
Cristiano Ronaldo has had an incredible career for club and country. After breaking out at Sporting CP in the early 2000s, he moved to Manchester United in the summer of 2003.
After six years, he moved to Real Madrid, where he spent a hugely successful nine-season spell. Ronaldo then had three seasons at Juventus before returning for a second spell at United in 2021. However, his stint was cut short midway through the 2022-23 campaign following a fallout with boss Erik ten Hag.
Cristiano Ronaldo moved out of Europe for the first time, joining Al-Nassr in December 2022 on a free transfer. Explaining how he adapted to life in Saudi Arabia, he told Ferdinand in the aforementioned video (0:52):
"My whole life, it's about challenge. I left my house when I was 11 years old to live in a big city. So, for me, it's easy. I change, from Madeira to Lisbon, Lisbon to England, England to Italy, Spain. For me, it's not a problem.
"It's part of my life. I'm used to this kind of life ... very easy for me, you can talk about religion, the weather, no country is perfect. So, for me, that adaptation was easy. And I really love to be there, to be honest."
Ronaldo has had a superb start to the season, scoring in all four games across competitions, bagging four goals and two assists.