What did Cristiano Ronaldo say about his retirement? Portugal superstar’s latest comments give clear indication on future

Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo debunked rumors that he may retire from the national team during a pre-match press conference today (March 22). He stated that he was 'happy' and compared his call-up to the squad to his very first.

It is a new era for Portugal as their UEFA Euro 2024 qualification campaign begins tomorrow (March 23). They will be up against Liechtenstein in Group J under new manager Roberto Martinez.

This will be Ronaldo's first appearance for his country since leaving Manchester United for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner featured in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. However, he was controversially benched in their 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Morocco by former manager Fernando Santos.

The Al-Nassr forward equaled Bader Al-Mutawa's all-time appearance record of 196. He will be looking to eclipse his tally tomorrow to set another record in his sensational career.

After Portugal's disappointing exit from the World Cup, many thought Ronaldo would hang up his boots for the national team. However, former Belgium manager Martinez arrived pledging to respect the veteran's history with the national team.

He even flew out to Saudi Arabia to privately meet the Real Madrid legend, showing he plans on integrating the 38-year-old into the squad going forward.

Ronaldo reaffirmed this today by speaking to the media in the pre-match press conference, stating he has no plans of retiring:

“I feel happy with Portugal. It feels like it’s my first call-up again. Retirement? I don’t want to be the one to throw in the towel. I can still help the selection.”

He added:

“I want to be part of Portugal for as long as they count on me. Keep adding onto the international goal record? I hope so. I do want to become the player with the most international caps.”

Portugal's group also contains the likes of Iceland, Slovakia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The top two nations from each of the 10 groups qualify for the final tournament in Germany next year.

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Cristiano Ronaldo admits his second stint at Manchester United was a 'bad phase' in his career

In the same pre-match press conference, Ronaldo reflected on his time during his second tenure at Manchester United:

“Manchester United? When we are at the top of the mountain, we often don’t see what’s below. I went through a bad phase of my career, I have no problems admitting that. But life moves on. I understood who are real friends in that difficult moment."

The Portuguese endured a difficult start to the season this year at United after falling out with new manager Erik ten Hag. He lost his position in the starting XI before having his contract mutually terminated on November 22.

He joined Al-Nassr in January and has enjoyed a successful start at his new club, scoring nine goals in 10 games.