July 6 – Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed the 2026 World Cup will be the last of his career, bringing to a close one of the most remarkable international journeys the game has seen.

Speaking ahead of Portugal’s last-16 meeting with Spain, the 41-year-old admitted the tournament in North America will be his sixth and final World Cup, although he hopes retirement from football’s biggest stage is still a few matches away.

“This will be my last World Cup; God willing tomorrow is not my last game,” Ronaldo said.

If Portugal are beaten in Arlington, Texas, it will end an international career spanning 23 years, 232 appearances and 146 goals. It will also bring the curtain down on a World Cup story that began as a teenage substitute for Luís Figo against Kazakhstan in 2003 and could finish before more than 80,000 spectators in Texas.

The announcement is not surprising – by the time the next World Cup rolls around, Ronaldo will be 45-years-old – but more so than with any other athlete, there was the feeling that if anybody could feature at that age, Ronaldo could.

Despite lifting almost every major honour available during his career, the World Cup is the one prize that has eluded him. Ronaldo, however, insisted his legacy no longer depends on finally adding it to an already overflowing trophy cabinet.

“I’m not missing anything; God has been generous to me. I won’t be more Cristiano or less Cristiano if I win the World Cup or not.”

Ronaldo appeared relaxed throughout the press conference, joking with reporters while acknowledging that speculation over his future has followed him for much of his career.

“They’ve tried to kill me for 23 years. There’s no point paying too much attention to it. It’s part of it.”

He added: “Whatever happens tomorrow, I will leave with a clear conscience, not 100% but 1,000% because I have given everything to football. I don’t need it; I live well, but it’s about passion. I play football because I love it.”

With three goals already at this tournament, Ronaldo also dismissed suggestions he has become a passenger in Portugal’s side. “And I have scored three goals. I’m not doing too badly, right?”

The comparisons to long-time rival Lionel Messi, who has flourished yet again on the international stage for Argentina, are hard to ignore.

The biggest disparity in their trophy collections is Messi’s World Cup from 2022. Ronaldo still has time to put that right this month. But Messi has time to add a second.

Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at [email protected]