Cristiano Ronaldo fires back at critics who claim his retirement is near

Portugal and Al-Nassr forward Cristiano Ronaldo || Credit: Getty image

Cristiano Ronaldo fires back at critics who claim his retirement is near

Ayoola Kelechi 16:18 - 23.09.2023

Al Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo confirms that he is not close to retiring despite what critics may say

Portuguese football legend Cristiano Ronaldo has put to bed any rumours of an impending retirement after stating his fitness and hunger for more football accolades.

Ronaldo continues exceptional Al Nassr form

Ronaldo, who turned 38 in February, was up to old tricks for Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr on Friday, scoring twice in a thrilling 4-3 win over rivals Al Ahli, and affirmed after the game that he was still willing and able to give more such performances.

Ronaldo’s competitiveness was questioned following his move to Al Nassr in the absence of offers from European clubs, but the former Real Madrid and Juventus star continues to prove that this is not the case.

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.co.ke/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

The forward has already scored nine goals and provided four assists in only six games of the 2023/24 season and assured fans that he was far from finished on the biggest stage.

Ronaldo has no intention of slowing down

Speaking after the match against Al Hilal, Ronaldo said, “I will continue to play until my legs say: Cristiano, I'm done'. I still have a lot. I still love football and scoring goals.

“I still love winning. They say I'm done but I'm still proving that it's not true.”

The former Manchester United superstar, who was forced out of the club after an explosive interview, has spearheaded a massive Saudi Arabian movement, and will be hoping to continue his superb form into the 2024 when he will hopefully lead Portugal’s charge for the European Championships.