Cristiano Ronaldo a future Man Utd manager? Why Portuguese superstar is being backed – ahead of eternal rival Lionel Messi – to move into coaching & potentially fill Red Devils or Real Madrid jobs

The Portuguese superstar is showing no sign of slowing down at present, with any thoughts of retirement being put on hold. He is, however, 39 years of age and into the final year of his contract at Al-Nassr. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has hinted at agreeing an extension to his terms in Saudi Arabia.

Ronaldo also intends to remain in contention for selection by his country for as long as possible, with the plan being to add to hauls of 212 caps and 130 goals. He will hang up his boots at some point, though, and Owen believes a move into coaching beckons.

Owen is not the first to suggest that CR7 could become a boss, but the ex-England international has told TVSporten when asked if Ronaldo and his eternal rival Lionel Messi will end up in the dugout: “I'd be fascinated to see what Cristiano Ronaldo is going to do when he retires. Obviously, they're not far away from that being the case. Their life has been in football and they absolutely love the sport and whether they can walk away from it in its entirety remains to be seen, they might want to go and own a club.

“They're probably one of a few footballers that have got the money to go and own a big club so that could take precedence over coaching. It'll be fascinating to see. I would say the likely person out of the two to go and manage would be Ronaldo. Just looking from the outside, it feels like he might want to be at the side of the pitch managing Portugal like he did at Euro 2016.

“He looks like a coach, he looks like he wants to coach, so he might want to go down that route. The Portugal job, probably in the future we might have his name on it, you never know. Of course, if he does well, then great teams like Manchester United, Real Madrid would then be looking at him.”

Ronaldo has vast experience that he can pass on to the next generation, but has earned enough money over the course of a record-setting career that he will never have to work again once heading into retirement. The same is true of Messi, who has tended to be a character that inspires by actions rather than words.