'When the time comes, I'll move on' - Ronaldo not planning international retirement
Cristiano Ronaldo may not have been at his best for Euro 2024, but he has no intentions of hanging up his boots for Portugal just yet.
Cristiano Ronaldo says he has no intention to retire from international football yet, but does not expect it to be a difficult decision when the time comes.
The 39-year-old holds the record for the most caps and goals of any player in men's international football, netting 130 times in 212 games.
However, Ronaldo's future was called into question after an unconvincing Euro 2024 campaign in which he failed to hit the back of the net in five appearances.
The tournament in Germany was the sixth major finals Ronaldo has featured in, a record, and he became the first European player in history to make 50 appearances at major tournaments.
"When the time comes, I'll move on," he said. "It won't be a difficult decision to make.
"If I feel like I'm no longer contributing anything, I'll be the first to leave.
"Until the end of my career, I will always have the mindset that I will be a starter."
Ronaldo also said he "never considered leaving the national team" despite the criticism he received during the tournament.
"People's expectations of the national team were too high," Ronaldo added.
The forward has retained his place in the Portugal squad for their upcoming Nations League matches against Croatia and Scotland, when he will be looking to score what will be his 900th career goal.
"The motivation is to come to the national team to win the Nations League," Ronaldo added. "We've already won it once, and we want to do it again.
"I might say the same thing over and over again, but I don't think long term, it's always short term."
