Cristiano Ronaldo: "I'll leave the national team when I want to, not when you want me to"

In his final press conference before Portugal's 2026 World Cup Round of 16 clash against Spain, Cristiano Ronaldo addressed the media. The national team captain sidestepped questions about his future, choosing instead to focus on the upcoming match.

"I am always fully committed to helping the national team. Whether I'm playing or not, I will always have an important role. I will retire when I want to, not when you want me to. It's a waste of time to keep asking that question. But I don't want to shift the focus to that. The most important thing is tomorrow's game," he stated.

"If we didn't believe we could win the World Cup, we wouldn't be here. It's been a beautiful experience. We've improved game by game. We know this is a competition where it's impossible to play well in every match, and it hasn't been easy for anyone – just look at who has already been eliminated. I see the team as calm; we've trained well, we've prepared well. Tomorrow, we face an incredibly tough opponent, but we are ready."