Portuguese sniper Cristiano Ronaldo intends to continue with his country until the next European Nations Cup (Euro 2024) to end speculation about the possibility of retiring from international football after the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
Ronaldo’s level has declined this season with his Manchester United side, and his participation in the starting XI under Dutch manager Erik Ten Hag has been rare.
But Ronaldo, 37, has retained his place in the Portuguese national team under coach Fernando Santos as he prepares to lead his country against the Czech Republic and Spain this week in the European Nations League.
During the ceremony of presenting the “Quinas de Oro” award, given by the Portuguese Federation to the best scorer in the history of the national team, Ronaldo expressed his intention to continue working with his country until Euro 2024, when he turns 39 years old.
“I hope to be part of the national team in the next few years,” Ronaldo said. “I still have motivation and my ambitions are high.”
He added: My journey is not over here, we have a lot of young and qualified players, I will be in the World Cup and I would like to be in the European Cup of Nations.
He pointed out, “It has been a long journey, and I want to take this opportunity to say that the journey is not over yet, you still need to be patient with me a little.
Ronaldo contributed to the greatest achievement in the history of the Portuguese national team – winning the Euro 2016 title, despite his absence from most of the final match against France due to injury.
Portugal play in Group H of the World Cup along with Uruguay, South Korea and Ghana.
