What happens next? Cristiano Ronaldo says this year is probably his last as a professional footballer, the Portugal captain told Vogue in an interview published on Sunday.
The 41-year-old, who has more than 950 goals for club and country, repeated a timeline he has given before, after once saying retirement was “soon” or within “one or two years.” He told Vogue, “This is probably my last year of football, and I want to leave a spectacular legacy,” and added that his future beyond the pitch was “all mapped out.”
Ronaldo spelled out how he expects to fill the gap that football could leave, saying, “I have so many things to keep me busy that to tell you just one thing is hard,” and listing travel and padel among his favourite activities. “Because football could leave a big hole, you have to fill your time in various ways, not just one,” he said.
The interview came days after he married his partner, Georgina Rodríguez, in an intimate ceremony in the Portuguese resort of Cascais on Tuesday. He framed the possible end of his playing days in personal terms, noting the length of his career and the cost of maintaining it, saying he wanted to “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 will return to club duty after appearing for Portugal at the World Cup this summer, when the national side reached the last 16, and is due to link up with Al-Nassr for the new Saudi Pro League season. If he follows through on the timeline he described, club and country will soon have to plan for football without one of the game’s most prolific scorers.
The announcement tightens the timeline on succession questions around Al-Nassr and Portugal, and it shifts attention to how Ronaldo’s off-field projects and recent marriage will shape the next chapter of his public life.
