Soccer Legend Reveals the Reason Why Cristiano Ronaldo Won’t Retire Yet
One of soccer’s all-time greats has not announced plans to retire yet, but the talk about Cristiano Ronaldo doing so ramped up when he stated that the 2026 FIFA World Cup would be his last.
At 41, Ronaldo’s age and the fact that Father Time catches up with everyone are the reasons for that. But there’s been plenty of speculation that Ronaldo is ready to hang up his cleats sooner rather than later. Some even believe he’ll even do so right after the World Cup concludes.
But another former soccer star doesn’t think that’s the case, but instead that Ronaldo will to continue to play for years to come.
Swedish soccer legend Tomas Brolin, who played throughout the 1990s and finished fourth in the Ballon d’Or rankings in 1994, doesn’t see Ronaldo walking away anytime soon from the game that seems to still bring him joy.
Speaking on behalf of Hajper, Brolin told Showbiz Cheat Sheet, “As long as you think football is fun, then whether you’re 28 years old, 30, or 40, it doesn’t matter. You just continue. It will never come back if you quit. You just have to keep going as long as you think it’s fun. Nobody else is going to decide that. But as long as you yourself think it’s fun, just keep playing.”
Brolin also says that when it is over for Ronaldo and fellow superstar, Lionel Messi, they should both be remembered like Diego Maradona and Pele, explaining, “Pele and Maradona will always be like the foundation. They are the pillars from the past then. Then it’s Ronaldo and Messi from the modern times …
“But Maradona played during my time. I faced him, I got to know him in various contexts and, yes, Messi in the present time absolutely needs to win another World Cup trophy if he is to have the possibility to go past Maradona. I believe that.”
When asked his opinion on what it may have been like for Ronaldo and Messi if they played in his era, Brolin answered, “It’s hard to compare different eras. That’s just how it is. But both Ronaldo and Messi have probably scored more goals than all the rest of us from the ’94 era I think. They have probably played longer, they have maybe won more titles … So it is hard to compare. We were good in our time in the 90s and these guys have been fantastic now for the last 20 years. It is, you just have to tip your hat.
“You have to remember in the ’90s it was Serie A in Italy that was the league everyone played in. There was no other league. And then after that came Spain, Germany, and England maybe. But the football world has changed now since the late 90s when the Premier League came in and took over with the supremacy of where they have today, where the best players want to go. Now it’s Spain and England who have taken that over.”
Brolin added, “But in the ’90s when I moved to Parma, then it was Serie A that was the s*** … Now it’s a completely different football world with different conditions.”
