Cristiano Ronaldo Enters New Era Without Rival Lionel Messi
The World Cup brought an end to the famous Argentina career of Lionel Messi, who released an emotional letter six weeks after defeat to Spain in the final to confirm his time with the team was over.
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There had been a sense of inevitability about Messi’s international retirement. At 39 years old, his chances of leading the team out in 2030 were almost zero, and so he called time on his Albiceleste career to make space for the next generation-after one final farewell in this upcoming international break.
Cristiano Ronaldo, two years Messi’s senior, turned down the opportunity to follow suit.
Ronaldo’s role with Portugal has been the subject of fierce debate for years now, with many wondering whether the 41-year-old is actually a net positive for a Portugal side that has to do so much to atone for the Al Nassr star’s limited defensive effort.
The departure of manager Roberto Martínez after the World Cup seemed to set Portugal up for a new era, but his replacement, Jorge Jesus, is not prepared to march into a future without Ronaldo just yet, handing the veteran striker a spot in his first roster for the upcoming international break.
This time, though, things could be different.
Jesus Makes Vow Over Ronaldo
The argument for keeping Ronaldo in the Portugal squad has always been a simple one. He’s Cristiano Ronaldo, does anything else matter?
That reputation did not protect Ronaldo from awkward questions about his inefficiency at major tournaments. Since his five-goal haul at Euro 2020, Ronaldo has offered one goal at the 2022 World Cup, a solitary assist at Euro 2024 and three goals at this summer’s World Cup-two of which came against minnow Uzbekistan.
Moving forwards, Jesus has promised that just being “Ronaldo” is not going to be enough to keep the superstar in his squad.
“His performance is what matters,” Jesus argued. “The past doesn’t count.
“Performance is what will tell me the decisions I’ll make in training and in games. In this squad, there are 13 players who have worked with me. I don’t have a base, so there were several players who were important in this squad.
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“Cris is a player like any other. If he performs well, he plays. If not, he doesn’t. He has a different status, he has five Ballon d’Or awards, but does that matter in my decisions? No.”
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The Hunt for 1,000 Goals
Perhaps weighing on Ronaldo’s mind as he dismissed the idea of international retirement is his ongoing quest to reach four figures in the goal column.
Ronaldo currently sits on 979 career strikes for club and country, but he is seeking to become the first officially recognized player to ever hit 1,000. Having recently confessed that the 2026–27 season could easily be his last, the clock is ticking.
Assuming Ronaldo does retire at the end of the campaign, he needs 21 more goals before the end of May. Regardless of what you may think about the level of the Saudi Pro League, that is far from a certainty, even if he does have three in six games so far this year.
Jesus may be offering Ronaldo the platform to reach his target, but it would appear as though the new Portugal manager is not particularly interested.
“Regarding Cristiano Ronaldo, I believe he has to score his 1,000th goal more for Al Nassr than for the national team,” Jesus concluded.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Cristiano Ronaldo Enters New Era Without Rival Lionel Messi.
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This story was originally published September 18, 2026 at 10:45 AM.
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