Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo shocked his fans after dropping a huge hint at his retirement from professional football.
Following the game between his team Al Nassr and Al Rayyan in the AFC Champions League, Ronaldo asserted that he was not fixated on winning individual trophies.
Ronaldo, who leads Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia and Portugal’s national side, emphasised his goal was to be the best team player.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid superstar, without mentioning his retirement plans, hinted that his days in professional football were numbered, Mirror UK reported.
“I’m just enjoying playing football now as I know I don’t have much time left on the pitch. It is not important to me now to be the best player or to win awards. What is important to me now is to enjoy and help my team,” Cristiano Ronaldo said after the game.
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It is noteworthy here that the Portuguese footballer scored the 900th goal of his career last month as Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in Lisbon in their first game of the UEFA Nations League.
Ronaldo, 39, turned in a Nuno Mendes cross in the 34th minute of the match at the Estadio da Luz to reach the landmark.
The goal was his 131st in a Portugal shirt while half of his goals were scored for Real Madrid, with the remainder spread at Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United and current club Al-Nassr.
In an earlier interview, the former Manchester United star had opened up about the things he would miss once he retires from football.
“I’m going to miss the adrenaline of scoring a goal, and [the feeling] of being nervous. I think I’m going to miss that because in other part of me, I can control that. I have good people around me, good business, I have good things. But I [will miss that] the adrenaline of football is never going to exist [again]. This is why I’m going further than football,” Cristiano Ronaldo said at the time.
The Portuguese footballer, however, admitted that his body is not able to respond how it would respond in his prime.
“I give everything, to 40, 41, it doesn’t matter. I give my body for 25 years of football and I cannot give more because age doesn’t allow to go further,” Ronaldo said.
