Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Teary Ronaldo says World Cup career over as Spain beat Portugal

“It’s been my last World Cup, yes. But now I will have time to think, stay with my family, and life continues,” said Ronaldo.

• July 7, 2026
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed that he has played his last FIFA World Cup after Portugal suffered a 1-0 loss to Spain in their round-of-16 match at the Dallas Stadium on Monday.

Mikel Merino scored the only goal of the high-profile encounter in stoppage time to eliminate the Real Madrid legend and his Portuguese teammates from the World Cup.

Speaking to reporters after the match, the 41-year-old, who was in tears after the final whistle, revealed that he had played his final World Cup match, stating, “It’s been my last World Cup, yes. But now I will have time to think, stay with my family, and life continues. I’m sad to be going out of the World Cup like this. But I gave it my all; I did my best.

“That’s football. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I will wake up tomorrow in the same mood as I did today. I did my best. I won three titles with Portugal. Before me, there were zero titles. I can only be happy.”

Ronaldo, however, said he had yet to decide whether to retire from international football altogether.

“I still don’t know if I will retire from the Portuguese national team right now. We’ll see. I don’t want to decide just yet; I need to discuss it with my family. I don’t want to distract attention with something personal,” Ronaldo explained.

At this World Cup, Ronaldo broke multiple records, including becoming the first player to score in six different World Cup tournaments, the oldest player to score multiple goals in a match and the oldest player to score in the knockout stage. 

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