ATLANTA, GEORGIA—Manchester United star striker Cristiano Ronaldo has no plans to slow down in playing professional soccer at 36 years old.
Ronaldo told reporters this week that he hopes to play professionally at 42 years old.
“I feel happy to be a player who has shown who, in my case, longevity has been a crucial factor for me to keep playing at a high level, putting in good performance,” Ronaldo said.
“I want to find out if I’m going to play until I’m 40, 41, or 42, but the most important thing is that my daily goal is to enjoy the moment,” Ronaldo added.
Sources said despite his club’s struggles this season, Ronaldo remains his team’s top scorer with 14 goals in all competitions.
In the recent 3-2 win of his team before his injury against Arsenal, Ronaldo surpasses 800 goals of his career for club and country.
The 800th goal came in the 52nd minute of the match at Old Trafford when Marcus Rashford picked out Ronaldo on the right side of the box, who shot the first time into the far bottom corner from about 10 yards out.
Ronaldo then scored No. 801 when he converted from the penalty spot in the 70th minute.
Last October 12, Ronaldo also recorded his 10th international hat trick in Portugal’s 5-0 win over Luxembourg in a World Cup Qualifier game.
The 36-year-old Ronaldo has taken his tally to 115 goals for the national team, while he has now netted 794 senior goals since scoring his first professional goal on Oct. 7, 2002.
“Another victory, another step towards our goal, another historic night in defense of our colours!” Ronaldo said in an Instagram post.
“I had promised that I would always be looking for more and more and more! It is in my DNA and in our DNA, we are never satisfied, we never let our arms down and we will always fight for everything we can achieve!,” Ronaldo added.
Last October 9, Ronaldo scored his 112th international goal which further extended the men’s record he broke last month in Portugal’s 3-0 friendly win against 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar.
Ronaldo scored the opening goal for his country eight minutes before half-time with a close-range finish after a cross from Manchester United teammate Diogo Dalot deflected off a Qatar defender.
Last September 29, Ronaldo also broke the all-time Champions League appearance record with his last-minute goal that helped Manchester United beat Villarreal 2-1.
Ronaldo’s appearance in the game gave him 182 which broke the previous record of retired goalkeeper Iker Casillas 181 appearances.
Holding a record is not new for Ronaldo, the Portuguese soccer superstar also holds several other records in the men’s tournament, including the most titles with five.
He is also the top goalscorer with 137 goals, as well as clocking up the most assists with 42.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lionel Messi trails Ronaldo in both categories, with 121 goals and 36 assists.
Ronaldo has also scored the most penalties with 19, while Messi is second again with 16.
