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The career of one of the greatest players to ever step on the field, Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo, is probably coming to an end – and FOX Sports’ Kasper Schmeichel, who was the goalkeeper for Denmark, thinks it will be difficult for the 41-year-old to come to grips with that reality.
“I know exactly what he feels right now,” Schmeichel said of Ronaldo after Portugal were eliminated from the 2026 World Cup by Spain on Monday. “It means everything to play for your country. Look at his body language. It hits you and it hits you harder than you’ll ever expect.
“Even at his age, I don’t care how many goals you’ve scored or how many trophies you have, that’s not his mentality. His mentality is next. Wants to win, wants to keep going, wants to prove he’s still the best.”
Ronaldo and Portugal progressed through Group K at the 2026 World Cup after going 1-2-0 in group play. Then, after a win over Croatia in the round of 16, they were eliminated by Lamine Yamal and Spain in the round of 16. After Portugal’s defeat, Ronaldo said this was his “last” World Cup but that he was still considering his future in the sport elsewhere.
The 2026 World Cup marked the sixth tournament of this type Ronaldo played in for Portugal, with the club unable to claim a tournament triumph in any of those six years (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026). Ronaldo scored three goals across Portugal’s five matches at this tournament, highlighted by a brace against Uzbekistan in the group stage.
The superstar striker has 11 career World Cup goals and is first all-time with 976 career goals across a combined 1,326 games.
“I think at the moment Cristiano is realizing that he’s not going to play the World Cup again. The stadiums, you’re not going to be able to play in them again. It’s a really, really hard thing and it’s something I haven’t come to terms with yet,” Schmeichel said. “It’s an ongoing process. But I think he’s the type of guy that he wants to keep playing. He wants to keep playing and he doesn’t have to, but he’s doing it because he loves it. He loves the game. He’s physically still able to play.
“Not to take it away from you but it’s four years until another World Cup so chances are he won’t be there and it’s going to be really, really hard to take.”
Ronaldo has spent the last four years at Al-Nassr FC in the Saudi Pro League, scoring an average of 29.3 goals per game. season over the last three years and helped them win the league title in the 2025-26 season.
Of course, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and eight-time Domestic League champion has two spells at Manchester United (Premier League) and stints with Real Madrid (La Liga), Juventus (Serie A) and Sporting CP (Primeira Liga) under his belt.
