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Cristiano Ronaldo confirmed at the Tourise Summit in Riyadh in November 2025 that the 2026 FIFA World Cup will likely be his last major international tournament. He will be 41 years old when the competition kicks off.
His timeline for stepping away from professional football entirely sits at one to two years after the World Cup. That aligns with his contract at Saudi club Al-Nassr, which was extended in June 2025 and runs through the summer of 2027.
Ronaldo has scored over 950 career goals and continues to play regularly for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League while representing the Portuguese national team.
By asking for unity, Ronaldo is telling critics, teammates, fans, and media to stop treating his continued presence as a debate topic. The subtext is clear: the retirement question has become a distraction, and he wants it off the table until he personally puts it there.
For football fans, the picture is straightforward. Ronaldo intends to play through the 2026 World Cup and through his Al-Nassr contract until 2027, providing roughly two more years of competitive football.
With a contract running until 2027 and the World Cup in 2026, Ronaldo has given himself a structured exit. The World Cup serves as the emotional crescendo, and the final Al-Nassr season provides a professional conclusion.
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