Cristiano Ronaldo: Portugal legend confirms 2026 World Cup will be his last before Last 16 clash with Spain | Football news

Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed that the 2026 World Cup will be his last as a player.

He and his Portugal teammates face Spain in Dallas on Monday night, with a place in the quarter-finals on the line.

Speaking at a pre-match press conference, the 41-year-old said: “Let this be my last World Cup; it’s my last World Cup, and hopefully tomorrow won’t be my last game.”

The Al-Nassr striker was then applauded by reporters in the room as he left.

Ronaldo previously refused to confirm that this tournament will be his last, although he will be 45 years old when the next tournament is played in 2030.

“I will finish when I choose. You always ask the same question: is this the last? We will see. I don’t want to pay attention to this, the most important thing is to play well tomorrow,” he said on Sunday.

“I’ll be completely honest, no matter what happens tomorrow, Cristiano will go 1,000 percent with a clear conscience.

“I gave everything I could to football, it’s my desire to play for so many years. I didn’t do it out of necessity, I’m doing well in life. It’s about motivation. I play for the national team and I love playing football.

“Regardless of what happens tomorrow, I will not put pressure on myself to win.”

“You have to enjoy every game in a big tournament like the World Cup. I think I’m not doing that bad. I scored three goals, others did better but I think I’m not doing bad.”

The former Man Utd and Real Madrid striker has faced criticism for his performance at the World Cup, with Portugal producing disappointing performances in their three group games.

Ronaldo failed to score in a shocking match against DR Congo but managed to score twice against Uzbekistan. Question marks about his involvement resurfaced again in the match against Colombia.

This famous Portuguese striker is the top scorer in his country, scoring 146 goals in 232 games. Ronaldo also became the first player to score a goal in different World Cups when he beat Uzbekistan.

His goal in a 2-1 win over Croatia made him the second-highest World Cup goalscorer in history, and the oldest to play in the knockout stage.