Cristiano Ronaldo wants to play until he is 41 and only retire after playing with the national team in the World Cup in 2026. This information was disseminated in Saudi Arabia on Monday and caused the player to inform Al-Nassr management of his desire to extend his contract with the club until early 2027 so that he can remain active and participate in the sixth World Championship. the final phase of which will take place in the US, Canada and Mexico.
The 38-year-old striker became the best-paid footballer in the world in January this year, with an annual salary of 200 million euros, while his current contract expires on June 30, 2025. To confirm: the wish of the five-time Ballon d’Or player , as well as the availability of Al-Nassr, Ronaldo must sign a new contract valid for a year and a half, to hang up his boots at the beginning of 2027, just a few months before he turns 42.
After participating in 10 final stages of major competitions – European and World Cups – Ronaldo has the desire to participate in Euro 2024, for which the Quinas team can qualify next Friday, if they beat Slovakia in Estádio do Dragão. However, it seems that the tournament to be held in Germany will not be the end of CR7’s line in the national team as he promises to continue breaking records if, as he wants, he participates in the 2026 World Cup. In other words, He became the only footballer to participate in six finals and became the player with the most appearances, although he would have to play five matches to surpass Lionel Messi’s 26.
Dalot now wants to qualify with Slovakia
This Monday, Ronaldo was one of 26 players who showed up at Cidade do Futebol, in Oeiras, to prepare for the matches against Slovakia and Bosnia scheduled for Monday in Zenica, both of which qualify for the European Championship.
Coach Roberto Martínez cannot count on Raphaël Guerreiro for these two games, who suffered a muscle tear while playing for Bayern Munich. Ricardo Horta is still in doubt, who missed Sporting de Braga’s last match against Rio Ave due to a physical problem that forced him to be substituted during the match against Union Berlin, which counts for the Champions League. The Braga native was a notable absence from training as he worked alone in the gym.
The rest of the squad was under the coach’s command during the first training session and it was up to Diogo Dalot, the Manchester United right-back, to be present in the press room, where he praised Benfica’s João Neves. the debutant in this team. “He has a lot of quality and has shown at Benfica that he deserves to be here. That’s why he is here,” said the full-back, guaranteeing that “older people” will not miss the opportunity to practice the 19-year-old. -old midfielder, “after all, it is part of the process of reaching the main team.”
However, Dalot assumed that the national team “has all the conditions to qualify in the next match” against Slovakia, adding that the aim is to “resolve the qualification as soon as possible”.
With no left backs in the national team squad, Dalot said he was “available to play in any position” and also revealed his desire to contribute to the corner team remaining goalless in the qualifying stages for the European Championship. “It is a goal in the dressing room. The biggest goal is to win and if we can do that with our goal at zero, it would be perfect,” he stressed.
Source: DN
