Portuguese star of Al Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo, will turn 42 this Thursday, four months before the start of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, in which, if nothing unusual happens, he will be present. Amidst his dispute with the Saudi Pro League over the signing of Frenchman Karim Benzema for Al Hilal and the distribution of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) among the league's four major clubs, the current and indestructible Portuguese forward will turn 42 this Thursday, a simple number that grows year after year but never could confront the winning and competitive instinct that coexists within the star from Madeira. Although the average retirement age from professional football is around 35, Ronaldo continued his career, making the passage of time seem like a farce, and demonstrating why, for nearly 12 years, he competed with Argentine Lionel Messi for the title of the world's best player. The clear demonstration of his absolute relevance is the milestone he will, if nothing unusual happens, achieve on June 17 with the Portugal national team in the US city of Houston, playing in his sixth World Cup, according to the Argentine News Agency. This record will be shared with Messi, who, like Ronaldo, has played in every World Cup since the 2006 edition in Germany. The two, along with Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, will become the only three footballers to achieve this feat. A reference and idol of an era, the forward debuted for Sporting Lisbon in 2002, but just a year later and with 31 matches played, he was signed by Manchester United after legendary Scottish manager Alex Ferguson was impressed by the player in a friendly between the Portuguese and English teams. From that transfer for around $12 million and at just 18 years old, Ronaldo became a rising and ceilingless star in world football. In his six years at Manchester and with the iconic number 7 shirt, the star played 292 matches, scored 118 goals, and won 9 titles, including the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League. If his story in Manchester was a dream come true with the conquest of his first Ballon d'Or, what he experienced during 9 years at Real Madrid, which paid $80 million for his transfer, was the consecration as a legend of this sport. In the Spanish team, he played 438 matches, scored 450 goals, and won 15 titles, including four UEFA Champions Leagues. In addition, he led the Portuguese to win the national team's first three titles: the Euro 2016 and the UEFA Nations Leagues 2019 and 2025, finishing as the top scorer in all of them.
