“I’m not going to finish my career because two rats criticise me” - Cristiano Ronaldo hits out at critics with emphatic claim

Cristiano Ronaldo has made an emphatic claim while hitting out at the people criticizing him in recent times. The Portuguese superstar strongly claimed that he won't call time on his career owing to pressure from critics.

It goes without mentioning that the last few months haven't been good to Cristiano Ronaldo. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner recently lost the Saudi Super Cup as his Al-Nassr side bowed to a 4-1 defeat against Al Hilal. He also failed to impress at the Euros this summer, failing to find the back of the net as Portugal crashed out in the quarterfinals.

Many have come after the 39-year-old in recent months, with pundits taking turns to criticize him on television while calling on him to retire and pointing to his age. All this haven't gone unnoticed by the former Real Madrid and Manchester United talisman.

Speaking on Rio Ferdinand Presents, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner hit back at naysayers and reiterated that he won't hang up his boots out of pressure from critics.

"People always take the worst part, not always the good part. But I'm not going to finish my career because two rats criticise me," he said.

The 39-year-old went on to stress that he still feels the love of his fans and that motivates him to keep going.

"The world loves me, the fans love me. This is my motivation to carry on playing football. People love me," he continued.

"No one is going to take my shine away because two people from TV that nobody knows criticise me," added the Portuguese icon.

It is worth noting that Cristiano Ronaldo has bounced back in style following what looked like a rough patch just a few weeks ago. The attacker has now scored and assisted in each of his two Saudi Pro League appearances for Al-Nassr in the new season.

So far, he's bagged a tally of four goals and two assists in the top flight from just two games. He also found the back of the net in each of Portugal's Nations League fixtures versus Croatia and Switzerland during the international break and will be hoping to keep the momentum going as club football returns this weekend.

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What is next for Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr?

Al-Nassr are scheduled to go head-to-head with Al-Ahli Saudi in their next Saudi Pro League outing. The highly anticipated encounter will take place at Al-Awwal Park tomorrow (Friday, September 13).

It is fair to say that it hasn't been the best of starts for the club this season. After losing the Saudi Super Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo and his colleagues played out a 1-1 draw with Al-Raed in their opening league fixture before beating Al Feiha 4-1 in their ast game.

As it stands, Al-Nassr occupy the fifth position in the league table with five points in two games, having scored a total of five goals and let in two. Meanwhile, arch-rivals Al-Hilal sit at the summit with a 100 percent record and are well on course to put on a strong defense of the title.