Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, gave his clearest signal yet that his playing career is winding down, telling Vogue in an interview published Sunday: “This is probably my last year of football, and I want to leave a spectacular legacy.” His contract with Saudi club Al-Nassr runs through mid-2027, meaning the 2026-27 season would be his last full campaign.
The timing lines up with a number he’s chased for years. Ronaldo sits at 976 career goals across club and country, 24 short of the 1,000 mark that no player in the sport’s history has reached. One more season gives him a real shot at getting there before he walks away.
A Season Off the Pitch, Too
The interview arrived days after Ronaldo married longtime partner Georgina Rodríguez in a private civil ceremony in Cascais, Portugal, on August 11, exactly one year after he proposed. The ceremony was small and intimate, attended by the couple’s five children, despite earlier rumors that placed the wedding in Madeira.
Ronaldo has spent the past year talking more openly about life after football than he has at almost any other point in his career, including plans around real estate, travel, and padel. It’s a notably deliberate approach to retirement from a player who has spent 25 years defined almost entirely by what he does on the field.
What do you think? Does Ronaldo get to 1,000 goals before he hangs up his boots? Let us know your thoughts in the comments on BeezLoop.com!
Related coverage: Sports Illustrated.
Related from BeezLoop: A New Bill Would Tax Social Security Above $184,500 in Wages, Ben Rice Hit Two Home Runs and Boston Managed Three Hits and A License Plate Reader Found J.R. Smith.
