Ronaldo responds to his critics before facing Spain.. “I am Ronaldo, with or without the World Cup.” | sports

Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo made strong statements during the press conference held today, Sunday, to talk about the upcoming confrontation of his country against Spain in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.

Ronaldo sent decisive messages to the media, especially those who hounded him with questions about the date of his retirement. He said: “You have been trying to kill me in the media for 23 years, but you realized that there is no point in that. It is just a waste of time. You try again and again to no avail.”

He added: “I have completely become accustomed to this matter. There are those who love me more and there are those who love me less, and this is part of life. I also have my preferences, and I will retire when I decide and not because of you. I will remain Cristiano Ronaldo even if I do not win the World Cup.”

Ronaldo considered playing at the age of 41 a wonderful experience that requires a lot of sacrifices and adaptation to age changes, stressing that his scoring instinct has not changed.

Regarding the upcoming confrontation against Spain, Ronaldo expressed his hope to score against Spain, stressing that Portugal’s interest is above all else, as he said: “If I do not score, then I hope one of my teammates scores so that we qualify.”

Ronaldo confirmed that the 2026 World Cup will be his last World Cup appearance, after 6 historic editions in which he played for his country’s national team.