After almost two decades of an amazing career, many have “seen it all” with Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese football star, prompting many to question what his long-term ambitions are.
The 38-year-old Ronaldo has come under fire in recent years for choosing the Saudi Pro League over the “elite” European football divisions, with some fans and detractors even stoking occasional rumors of his “retirement.”
Roberto Martinez, the coach of Portugal’s national team, has said that the former Manchester United player wants to play the game for a lot longer than some people think he will.
According to Sportskeeda, which cited Martinez’s comments, Ronaldo is “interested” in reaching the 250-match milestone. Ronaldo recently reached 200 matches for the national team in a Euro 2024 qualifier match against Liechtenstein, which is the most by any player at the international level.
“I asked Ronaldo if he was interested in 200 caps or not. “He said, ‘I’m interested in 250,'” Martinez recalled the football player’s comment.
Bader Al-Mutawa of Kuwait formerly held the record for the most international appearances with 196 games played.
However, Ronaldo will need to compete in the 2026 World Cup in order to reach his 250 match goal.
It should be mentioned that Portugal won all ten of their matches in their Euro qualifying campaign, with the star player scoring 10 goals, which is the second-highest total in the competition.
