Cristiano Ronaldo makes historic announcement – ‘this will be the moment’ | OneFootball

Legendary Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed that the 2026 World Cup will be his last.

The 40-year-old, who has scored a remarkable 953 goals for club and country, also said he would retire from football in “one or two years”.

Next year’s World Cup, which will take place in the United States, Canada and Mexico, will be Ronaldo’s sixth in total.

In an interview with CNN, when asked whether 2026 would be his last World Cup Ronaldo said: “Definitely, yes. I will be 41 years old and I think [this] will be the moment in the big competition.”

The Al-Nassr attacker is the all-time leading men’s international goalscorer with 143 and continues his pursuit of a milestone 1,000 career goals.

The former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus player forward said last week that he would retire “soon”, but confirmed on Tuesday it would be unlikely that he would play beyond 2027.

“Let’s be honest, when I mean soon, it’s probably one or two years I’ll still be at the game,” he said.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner helped Portugal to the Euro 2016 title, but World Cup glory still eludes one of the most decorated players of his generation.

Portugal do still have the small matter of actually qualifying for the 2026 edition, with Roberto Martinez’s men knowing that a win over the Republic of Ireland on Thursday evening will secure their spot.