Cristiano Ronaldo has already hit the twilight of his career but he hasn’t shown any signs of stopping so far. Ronaldo’s retirement has become the subject of interest.
A disappointing Euro 2024 campaign saw Ronaldo and Portugal crash out of the tournament. A number of big stars with the likes of Germany’s Thomas Muller and France’s Olivier Giroud announced their retirement from international football but Ronaldo is still going strong.
He currently tops the international goalscoring charts and also holds the record for having the most number of caps for Portugal. Portugal are set to host Croatia followed by a visit of Scotland in the UEFA Nations League Group A.
Ahead of the match, Ronaldo insisted the thoughts of retiring from international football never crossed his mind.
As quoted by Reuters the former Manchester United forward said, "That's all from the press. It never crossed my mind that my cycle (with Portugal) had come to an end. Quite the opposite: it gave me even more motivation to continue to be honest.
"The motivation is to come to the national team to win the Nations League … We've already won it once and we want to do it again. I might say the same thing over and over again, but I don't think long term, it's always short term."
He further added, "Until the end of my career, I will always have the mindset that I will be a starter.
"What I feel at the moment, and the coach's (Roberto Martinez) words also demonstrate this, is that I continue to be an asset to the national team and I will be the first (to admit it) if that isn't the case.
"When I'm (no longer) an asset I will be the first to leave. But I will go with a clear conscience, as always, because I know who I am, what I can do, what I do and what I will continue to do."