Cristiano Ronaldo once again found himself dodging questions about his future, this time during a press conference ahead of Portugal’s Nations League opener against Wales, offering a mix of humor and honesty rather than any real clarity on when his career might end.
The moment came when a journalist asked him about Jorge Jesús’s ability to lead the national team to a World Cup or European Championship title, before slipping in a far more personal follow-up about when he plans to retire. Ronaldo, clearly amused, asked the reporter to pick just one question to save time for the rest of the room.
When pressed on the retirement question anyway, Ronaldo made clear he wasn’t going to give a straight answer, admitting he genuinely doesn’t know. “I wish I could answer that question, but I can’t, because I don’t know. I learned something when I was just past 30: live in the moment and don’t think about tomorrow. And that’s how I’ve lived my life ever since. I don’t know,” he said.
Asked directly whether retirement is something that could realistically happen, Ronaldo didn’t rule it out, but stopped short of putting a timeline on it. “Is it possible? Yes. Is it very likely? Yes. But will it happen? No, I don’t know,” he said, leaving the door open without committing to anything concrete.
What he did commit to was how the news would eventually come out, and to whom. When the journalist asked whether he’d tell the Portuguese public first, Ronaldo pushed back on the framing entirely. “Why? Am I the Portuguese people?” he said, before clarifying that any announcement wouldn’t be limited to his home country. “I’ll tell the world, not just the Portuguese,” he added, promising that whenever the moment comes, everyone will find out at once.
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Portugal’s Nations League schedule this window
Ronaldo and Portugal open their 2026-27 Nations League campaign against Wales on September 24 at the José Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon, before facing Norway away on September 27.
The group continues on October 1 against Denmark, and closes out the window on October 4 back at home against Norway, this time at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto, as Jorge Jesús’s side looks to open his tenure with a strong run through League A.
