FRANKFURT, Germany — Cristiano Ronaldo can already claim to be soccer’s version of Tom Brady, but he’s not going to match the seven-time Super Bowl champ by continuing to play at the highest level at age 43.
The Portugal forward had one of his most dramatic nights on Monday, missing a penalty against Slovenia in Euro 2024’s Round of 16, becoming overcome with emotion afterward, but then leading his team to a penalty shootout victory and a spot in the quarterfinals.
[Portugal is backing Ronaldo even more than ever]
He later told Portuguese TV that this will be his final opportunity to personally add another Euros title to the one Portugal won in 2016.
“It is, without doubt, my last European Championship,” he said to RTP. “But I’m not emotional about that. I’m moved by all that football means — by the enthusiasm I have for the game, the enthusiasm for seeing my supporters, my family, the affection people have for me.”
It was already widely expected that Ronaldo would not play at Euro 2028. He has alluded to it several times in recent months but not categorically affirmed it like this.
That he’ll be done in four more years was also generally assumed, as it would be even more rare for a soccer player to still be playing at 43 than it was for Brady to claim a final championship with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Super Bowl LV at the same age, finally retiring for good at 45.
The World Cup in 2026, to be held in the USA, Mexico and Canada, could potentially be in play for Ronaldo. Time will tell. Ronaldo plays his club soccer with Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, but he remains a central part of Portugal’s squad, his role actually becoming enhanced since head coach Roberto Martinez replaced former manager Fernando Santos.
For now, his focus is on this tournament, where Portugal will face its sternest challenge by far when it meets France in Hamburg on Friday, in a rematch of the 2016 final.
“It’s not about leaving the world of football,” Ronaldo added. “What else is there for me to do or win?”
Brady and Ronaldo’s careers have often been linked. Few other athletes have operated at such an elite level for such a sustained period of time, both collecting a multitude of team and individual accolades along the way.
In a twist, the NFL quarterback, now an analyst for FOX, personally met with Ronaldo at a Manchester United game in 2022 that he attended with his son. Ronaldo struck a spectacular hat trick against Tottenham and said to Brady afterward: “You’re done, right?”
[Ronaldo and Tom Brady: Sports kindred spirits]
A day later, Brady announced his “unretirement,” saying he realized his place was “on the field, not in the stands.”
Ronaldo isn’t quite at that point yet, and though he hasn’t scored so far at these Euros, there is no questioning the uplifting effect he has on the Portugal team’s morale.
We don’t know exactly when Ronaldo will be done. But we know, with Portugal at least, it will be within the next four years.
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