Cristiano Ronaldo has made a bold declaration that has nothing to do with his football career.
The 39-year-old Portuguese superstar, who is nearing the end of his playing days, has set his sights on overcoming a new rival – but this time, it’s not on the football pitch.
During a press conference ahead of Portugal’s Nations League games against Croatia and Scotland, Ronaldo was asked about his plans for retirement.
While he acknowledged that the day will eventually come, he insisted that he isn’t planning to stop playing at the international level just yet.
However, Ronaldo also acknowledged that retirement is inevitable, saying it “won’t be a difficult decision to make” when the time arrives.
“When the time comes, I’ll move on,” Ronaldo said.
“It won’t be a difficult decision to make. If I feel like I’m no longer contributing anything, I’ll be the first to leave.”
Ronaldo has shattered several records on the world stage, including the most caps and goals across anyone in men’s international football with 130 goals from 212 games.
The Portuguese legend also broke another record in recent weeks, but it was surprisingly not on the football field.
Instead, it was on YouTube, as Ronaldo gained a million subscribers within 90 minutes of launching his channel on August 21.
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Ronaldo clocked 20 million subscribes on the first day of launch.
That figure surpassed well-known YouTuber Mr Beast, who took 28 days to reach 20 million subscribers.
However, Mr Beast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, sits in first place for the most subscribers on the platform with an eye-watering 313 million subscribers.
But such is Ronaldo’s competitiveness, he has his sights set on eventually eclipsing Mr Beast.
At the same press conference, Ronaldo outlined why he created a channel on the platform and detailed his lofty ambitions.
Ronaldo said:
“My purpose in this was to be closer to my fans, I think they deserve it.”
“What impressed me most at the European Championships was the support, the next two or three years will be the end of my career and what they showed me was the most important thing.
“Subscribers and records… you have to put these things into perspective, but I want to beat them.
Everything in its own time and I feel that the fans are happier now and my first interpretation of this, a few months ago, was to be closer to them, and I am very pleased to do so.
“Mr Beast on YouTube? In two years, let’s try to beat him.”
This hints that Cristiano Ronaldo is already thinking about life beyond football and is preparing for the next chapter of his journey.
