Watch: Lionel Messi Details “Difficult, Complicated Days” Ahead of World Cup 2026
Cristiano Ronaldo may not be suiting up for Portugal after the 2026 World Cup.
Ahead of the nation’s 2-1 win over Croatia in their round of 32 match in Toronto July 2, the soccer star’s sister Kátia Aveiro said his time with the national team would soon be over.
“I truly believe this is the farewell, so make the most of it because it’ll be hard to find someone like him again,” she told Portugal sports outlet Sport TV, translated from Portuguese. “The information I have is very reliable. I believe this is the last dance, so let’s enjoy it.”
While Aveiro emphasized she was only referring to Ronaldo’s time with the Portugal national team and not his participation on the Saudi Pro League team Al-Nassr, she reflected on her brother’s impact on the sport.
“Anyone who is truly intelligent, who understands football and genuinely loves football, has to admire Cristiano Ronaldo,” she continued. “If you don’t like Cristiano Ronaldo, then you don’t like football.”
And the legacy that he is leaving behind is one that Ronaldo—who is dad to kids Cristiano Jr., 16, Alana, 8, and Bella, 4, as well as twins Mateo and Eva Maria, 9, with fiancée Georgina Rodríguez—has built alongside his family.
“Ronaldo has been working incredibly hard for more than 20 years,” she added. “We’ve lived through so much. We’ve achieved so much.”
Indeed, the 41-year-old first took the pitch for Portugal as an 18-year-old in 2003 and now holds the record for most international appearances for the country. And with 145 goals—including one in the July 2 World Cup match—he is also the current record-holder for most international goals in men’s soccer.
One title Ronaldo has yet to achieve, though, is World Cup champion, which he reflected on after Portugal was knocked out of the tournament in 2022.
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“I fought hard for that dream,” he wrote on Instagram at the time, per Fox Sports. “In the 5 World Cup appearances I made over 16 years, always alongside great players and supported by millions of Portuguese people, I gave my all.”
He concluded, “I left everything on the field. I never shied away from the fight and never gave up on that dream.”
And now, as Portugal advances to take on Spain July 6 in the round of 16, that dream is still alive.
To learn more about the international superstars participating in the 2026 World Cup, keep reading…
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