Cristiano Ronaldo has dismissed rumors of his retirement from the Portuguese national team, declaring that he will lead the Portuguese to another UEFA Nations League title.
Follow the action ahead of the UEFA Nations League 2024/25 group stage, which will begin its fierce battle on September 5.
It would not be strange if the 39-year-old footballer started thinking about retiring from international and club football before starting a new career. But this is not the case for a player like Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo has recently denied rumors of a move away from the Portuguese national team. Insisting that the criticism he has received has motivated him to be more determined.
Speaking ahead of Portugal’s Nations League clashes with Croatia and Scotland, Ronaldo insisted he had no intention of quitting the national team despite persistent rumours.
“All these things come from the media. I never thought that my career with the Portuguese national team would end. On the contrary, it gave me the motivation to keep fighting. My motivation is to play for the national team to win the UEFA Nations League. We have won it once and we want to do it again.”
The 39-year-old forward, who was named in the latest Portugal squad under Roberto Martinez, remains confident in his abilities and his place in the team.
“Until the last day of my career, I will still have the mindset that I will always be a starter. Whenever I am not useful to the โปรโมชั่น ufabet team, I will be the first to leave. But I will leave comfortably, as I always have.”
Ronaldo also addressed criticism of his performance at Euro 2024 in Germany, where despite contributing a goal in the group stage against Turkey, he failed to score and missed a penalty in extra time against Slovenia before Portugal crashed out of the quarter-finals to France in a penalty shootout.
“Criticism is good because without it there is no progress. It’s always been this way. Will it change now? No way. The critics have never been in the dressing room. For me, criticism is good and part of it. It’s not a problem.”