Cristiano Ronaldo faces decisive moment to join Lionel Messi and finally leave his most hated club
Cristiano Ronaldo is preparing for what may be his final chance to complete the one major honour missing from his extraordinary career: a World Cup title. At 41, the Portugal captain is set to begin his sixth World Cup campaign as his team opens its tournament in Houston against DR Congo. For Ronaldo, the setting marks the start of another attempt to claim football’s ultimate prize, one that has remained out of reach despite two decades at the top of the game.
Ronaldo’s career already stands among the most decorated in football history. He has scored 143 goals in 228 international appearances, won the 2016 European Championship with Portugal, lifted 29 major trophies with Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, and collected five Ballon d’Or awards. His record, longevity and relentless drive have made him one of the sport’s defining figures, admired for his professionalism and his ability to stay at the highest level across multiple eras.
Yet the World Cup continues to represent unfinished business. While Lionel Messi fulfilled his own global ambition by leading Argentina to the trophy in Qatar in 2022, Ronaldo once again left the tournament in tears. That contrast has sharpened the sense that a World Cup victory would be the final piece in Ronaldo’s legacy, elevating him from greatness to complete immortality in the game.
The article describes Ronaldo’s place among football’s all-time greats who never won the World Cup, a list that includes names such as Ferenc Puskas, Eusebio, Alfredo di Stefano, Michel Platini, Paolo Maldini, Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten and George Best. But unlike many legends who never reached the final stage, Ronaldo still has the chance to change his own story. If Portugal succeed, he would join the elite group of players who have lifted football’s greatest prize, alongside Pele, Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Franz Beckenbauer and Messi.
Portugal arrive with a highly talented squad and expectations of a deep run in the tournament. Still, the spotlight will inevitably remain on Ronaldo, whose pursuit of the trophy has shaped much of his international career. He has spoken confidently about his physical condition and insists he is ready to lead his country again, but he has also avoided making bold promises.
With the World Cup final scheduled for New York on July 19, the possibility remains that Ronaldo’s long chase for the one missing title could reach its conclusion in the coming weeks. Whether this becomes the last chapter of his international career or one more near miss, the tournament is poised to revolve around a player still driven by the same obsession that has defined him for twenty years.
