- Former teammate Nani has said Ronaldo could make it to 2030
- The 2030 FIFA World Cup will be held partly in Ronaldo’s home country, Portugal
- Ronaldo will be 45 by the time of the 2030 event
Cristiano Ronaldo has been in the ‘veteran’ stage of his career for some years now, but one of his former teammates has sparked speculation the star could keep going until the 2030 World Cup.
Inspired by 2030 FIFA World Cup
Nani – who played alongside Ronaldo for Portugal and Manchester United – has said that the player could be inspired to carry on playing for another six years to give himself a chance of playing at the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which will be played in his home country of Portugal, as well as Spain and Morocco.
Speaking to Cidade do Futebol, Nani quipped: “Cristiano Ronaldo at the 2030 World Cup? He’s about to start a new diet to be ready.”
While Nani might have been playfully referring to Ronaldo’s legendary health and fitness regime, it has nevertheless fuelled speculation that the footballer could try to make the event.
Ronaldo himself has previously described the 2030 World Cup as “a dream come true”, adding that it would be the “most special” World Cup ever.
Ronaldo would be 45 by the time of the 2030 World Cup. He currently plays for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, where he is among the top scorers this season, and is a regular for the Portuguese national team. Ronaldo has not really spoken about plans for retirement, despite being at an age where many players have long since retired and is renowned for his fitness regime.
It is not unprecedented to have a 45-year-old play at a World Cup. Essam El-Hadary was 45 when he played for Egypt at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Cristiano Ronaldo social media record
Of course, Ronaldo has interests away from football, not least his social media activities. He became the first person to have 1 billion followers across social media earlier this year, boosted by his YouTube channel, which at the time of writing has 71.7 million subscribers, despite only being launched in August.
