There has been a lot of speculation about Cristiano Ronaldo's plans for the future. Some believed he was bound to call it quits once his deal at Al Nassr comes to a close, but apparently, the Portuguese ace has other plans.
In an interview with former Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg, Portugal's coach Roberto Martínez discussed the possibility of watching CR7 playing his final matches with the national team next summer, but the coach's words were far from confirming such a scenario. In fact, Martínez revealed that the footballer may keep on playing with A Seleçao far beyond next summer.
While Martínez did not share the full details of his conversation with the Portuguese icon, he was able to reveal the number of games Cristiano Ronaldo wants to play with A Seleçao, which comes in handy to predict when CR7 will retire from football.
"He was very close to 200 caps, something no other player had achieved before. Of course the conversation we had is private, but I can reveal one of the things he told me. I asked if reaching 200 caps would interest him, and he simply replied: '250 interests me,'" the Spanish tactician stated.
Right now, Cristiano's record with Portugal stands at 205 caps. If he intends to reach 250 games, the striker will need to keep on playing until 2026 to accomplish that feat. Considering Portugal's activity, Cristiano Ronaldo would need to participate in 45 matches (15 per year) to reach that number, something that seems a bit far-fetched. Nonetheless, the player seems determined to add one more record to his international career.
Some of the competitions that could help Ronaldo reach that number include next year's UEFA Euro, the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League, and the FIFA World Cup. Will the Portuguese ace keep on playing after his 41st birthday, when he would accomplish this record? We will have to wait and see.
