Cristiano Ronaldo is entering the twilight years of his career but he remains in phenomenal physical condition at the age of 36 and has no plans to wind down any time soon
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Cristiano Ronaldo insists he has no plans to retire from Portugal duty for the sake of his club career.
The Manchester United forward is the leading scorer in men’s international football with 115 goals having broken Ali Daei’s record in September.
Portugal’s most-capped player with 182 appearances, Ronaldo captained his country to Euro 2016 glory and the inaugural UEFA Nations League title three years later.
With such an astonishing CV, many footballers would be tempted to call time on their international careers to help prolong their playing days.
Ronaldo famously remains in phenomenal physical condition at the age of 36, but United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is managing his workload and named him on the bench before the international break earlier this month.
When should Cristiano Ronaldo retire from international duty? Have your say in the comments.
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Nonetheless, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner claims he is still operating at the peak of his powers and declared his desire to “put the level even higher”.
“But why? I think it’s not my time yet,” Ronaldo told Sky Sports when asked if he is considering retiring from international duty.
“It’s not what people want, it’s what I want. It’s when I feel that I’m not capable to run, to dribble, to shoot, if the power is gone… but I still have that stuff so I want to continue because I’m still motivated.
“It’s the main word – [motivated] to do my stuff, to make people happy and my family happy and the fans and myself. I want to put the level even higher.”
Ronaldo has represented his country at 11 major tournaments and he won the Golden Boot at Euro 2020 this summer.
The World Cup has evaded him so far, but he appears primed to lead a star-studded Portugal squad to Qatar in the winter of 2022.
In the meantime, the former Real Madrid and Juventus forward is targeting more success on the continental stage with the Red Devils.
Should Cristiano Ronaldo start up front against Liverpool on Sunday evening? Pick your starting XI below!
Ronaldo added: “You speak about Portugal but in the Champions League I have the most goals, the most wins, assists… everything.
“But I want to carry on. I like to play football. I feel good to make people happy.”
Ronaldo scored in his third consecutive Champions League game to fire United to a dramatic comeback victory over Atalanta in midweek.
He scored a last-gasp winner against Villarreal in the club’s previous European fixture and the opening goal against Young Boys in the Group F opener.
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