Lionel Messi, James Rodriguez, Neymar and Manuel Neuer have all decided they have nothing left to give to their nations.
Not so for Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 41-year-old superstar admitted he has considered calling time on his Portugal career and focusing solely on his club journey with Al-Nassr, but he decided to press on after speaking with new Portugal manager Jorge Jesus.
"They count on me. I still believe that I'm able to help the national team," Ronaldo said in a news conference ahead of Portugal's UEFA Nations League contest with Wales. "The most important point is to be able, inside the pitch, to score goals and help the team to win games.
"If the manager doesn't count on me, I can leave today – no problem at all… When I feel that I'm not doing
anything here, that I'm not contributing on the pitch, not scoring goals, creating a bad atmosphere, or that they don't want me here, I'll be the first to pack my bags."
Ronaldo is closing in on a career milestone, sitting 21 goals away from 1,000 career goals. He said hitting the milestone in Portugal's deep red shirt would be "the culmination of something – a beautiful story. It wouldn't be the end of it, but it would be a beautiful story."
Ronaldo heard the criticism that the national team played better when he was not on the field but hopes he can both achieve individual success and assist Portugal in at least one more international competition.
"One goal is to achieve both – reaching 1,000 goals and the national team trying to win this Nations League," Ronaldo said.
The team is the reigning champion of the Nations League, beating Spain on penalty kicks in the March 2025 final. Ronaldo's eight goals in that competition made him the top scorer, but plenty of doubters will wonder if he can continue to do it.
For now, his plan is to continue to push to help the national team, to chase the milestones and to push past some of the individual rivals who have said goodbye to the international game as well.
Information from Reuters was used in this report
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What Cristiano Ronaldo said about his Portugal future at age 41
