Cristiano Ronaldo told of sacrifice he must make to ‘contribute meaningfully’ – with Al-Nassr & Portugal superstar continuing to delay retirement at 40 years of age

The Portuguese superstar has passed a landmark birthday, but he is showing no sign of slowing down and continues to delay any retirement plans. Ronaldo remains a prolific presence for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr and a talismanic captain of his country.

The expectation is that CR7 will play on to the 2026 World Cup, with a contract extension being agreed in the Middle East. He may, however, have to accept more of an impact role – particularly at international level – if he is to continue competing at the highest possible level.

That is an opinion shared by Joao Aroso, who worked with Ronaldo at Sporting CP, and he has told FourFourTwo: "At this stage of his career, it’s hard to make medium-term projections. It will depend a lot on how he’s feeling physically and mentally. Playing at another World Cup finals serves as a huge source of motivation for him – whether he’ll be decisive or not is another question. He can be decisive while playing fewer minutes, though, even without starting every single game.

"At his age, recovery takes longer and it’s tougher to maintain high-intensity performances for extended periods during games, as he once did. His ability to understand that he can contribute meaningfully, while playing less, could be important going forward."

Ronaldo is not the type to take a back seat, with his relentless work ethic keeping him at the top of his game for over 20 years. Aroso added on that mentality, which continues to serve the all-time great well: "It’s his drive, his passion to want to keep playing. Physical abilities help, of course, but a lot of it comes down to the mental side – the joy he gets from that, the pleasure he finds in training, playing and breaking records. That’s what keeps the engine running."

Ronaldo is up to 217 caps for Portugal, with 135 goals recorded along the way. He has billed himself as football’s greatest of all time and believes that he still has a few years left him before record-breaking boots are hung up for the final time.