Cristiano Ronaldo: “When I feel I’m useless, I’ll be the first to leave”

Striker Cristiano Ronaldo said this Monday that he continues to feel that he represents an added value to the Portuguese football team and that he will be the first to leave when he does not feel the need, making a decision with a clear conscience.

“I feel that at this moment I am still a valuable asset for the national team. When I feel that I am useless, I will be the first to leave and I will leave with a clear conscience, as always. I know who I am, what I do and what I will continue to do,” he emphasized at a press conference held at the Cidade do Futebol in Oeiras.

The Kinas team concentrated today to start preparing for the double duel that opens the Nations League, hosting Croatia and Scotland, in the first stage after the European Championship, in which Portugal was eliminated in the quarter-finals by France.

“When that moment comes, sooner or later, I will be the first to take that step forward. It will be very much my own decision and it will not be difficult to make. It will be a normal decision, like other players. did it, like Pepe, who had a great career, is an example for all of us and left through a big door. That’s how you can see it, to leave through a big door and with joy, not with sadness,” he said.

After losing for the first time in the final stage and not scoring a single goal in five matches played, Cristiano Ronaldo received a lot of criticism, which he considers “healthy” because “without criticism there is no evolution” and this is what has driven his entire career. “Until the end of my career, I will always have the idea that I will be in the starting lineup. I have always respected the decisions of the selectors and coaches… Not always, but that is because they also behaved badly towards me.

Whenever there is professional ethics, I will always respect the coaches,” he also assured, answering the question of whether he feels ready to lose his status as a starting player for the national team over time.

At 39, Cristiano Ronaldo has discussed the possibility of reaching his 1,000th career goal, although the Portuguese star stresses that goals are no longer a concern. “What has worried me in recent years is the joy I still get from training and competing. That’s the most important thing for me. Sometimes you score, sometimes you don’t, that’s part of life.”

If you make these numbers, it seems easy, but it is not, everything has its price and work. We have to treat these goals as a serious game, treat everything naturally and easily and not get hung up on the goal, because it will happen naturally. If I feel motivated, I will try to reach the 1,000 goal mark,” he said.

Cristiano Ronaldo also spoke about the episode with the young Giovani Kenda, who was called up to the national team for the first time at just 17 years old, upon his arrival in the City of Football, when the Sporting player was “embarrassed” in terms of the fact that “the national team is a family”. “Many of them are embarrassed to talk to me. Recently I was going up to my room, I saw Kenda, I went to see him, but I saw that he was a little embarrassed. Anyone who knows me knows that in the national team, for some I am always the big brother, and for some a father. Helping them integrate is very important, I also went through the same thing. The national team is a family and when someone comes, it is always valuable for the future. “, – he stressed.

The Portugal captain also spoke about the expectations of Portugal fans at Euro 2024. He believed they were “too high” and that Portugal’s participation in Germany was a “victory”. “At the European Championship, the expectations people had for the team were too high and they ended up getting lost in it. For me, it wasn’t a disappointment, it was part of the growth of the team, which has to take on its role. The time it takes for the coach to make the team play his way. For me, it was positive. Nobody likes to lose, but for me it wasn’t a failure, I think it was a victory.”

The fourth edition of the Nations League will begin with Portugal hosting Croatia at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon on Thursday before facing Scotland at the same stadium three days later, with both games kicking off at 7.45pm.

The national team is in Group A1, which also includes Poland, as well as the Croatians and the Scots. Portugal won the inaugural Nations League in 2019, but then failed to reach the Final Four in the 2020/21 and 2022/23 seasons.