Cristiano Ronaldo opened up after Al-Nassr's crucial 4-3 win over Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League on Friday night saying that he has no plans to retire anytime soon.
Ever since the 2022 FIFA World Cup ended, there have been talks regarding the 38-year-old's retirement because he was benched by Portugal's manager Fernando Santos and there were speculations that he might call time on his career but the five-time Ballon d'Or — the highest individual award for a footballer — denied all the rumours.
"They say Ronaldo is done… but it’s not true. I will continue to play until my legs say: Cristiano, I'm done," Ronaldo said as quoted by the renowned journalist, Fabrizio Romano.
"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."
Despite talks regarding his age and sometimes his form, Ronaldo has been consistently proving everyone by still going strong at the age of 38. With nine goals and four assists, the Dark Invader, a nickname given to him by former footballer Ray Hudson, currently leads the goals and assists charts in the Saudi Pro League.
And there seems to be nothing that could stop Ronaldo as just on Friday night, he scored a brace against a star-studded Al-Ahli side and earned an important for his side.
In an away smoky atmosphere, it was Al-Ahli who got smoked as Al-Nassr started the game on a high note courtesy of Ronaldo’s left-footed finish in the fourth minute of the game and then doubled his goal tally by scoring another one in the 52nd minute.
It must be noted that Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr in January 2023 on a big-money contract opened the way to hundreds of footballers as we saw some of the biggest names like Karim Benzema, Neymar, Mahrez, Sadio Mane and others making their way to the Gulf country.
His move also helped in promoting football in the Middle East.
