The end of Cristiano Ronaldo’s playing career appears to be drawing near.

The Portugal star confirmed as much in an interview with Vogue published on Sunday, 16 August 2026.

“This is probably my last year in football, and I want to leave a spectacular legacy,” said Cristiano Ronaldo.

Recently, he had already stated that this year’s World Cup would be the last of his career.

However, he had still not made clear exactly when he would finally decide to hang up his boots.

In the same interview with Vogue, which also shared details about his marriage to Georgina Rodríguez, the forward said that once he steps away from football, he plans to devote more time to his family.

“I have so many things to keep me busy that it’s hard to name just one. Football can leave a huge void, so you have to fill your time in several ways, not just one. And also enjoy yourself more, travel more, watch and play padel, which I really like, and keep enjoying what I have achieved — and what we have achieved. At the end of the day, it has been 25 years of a lot of sacrifice,” he explained.

One milestone Ronaldo is still expected to chase before bringing his career on the pitch to a close is his 1,000th goal.

At present, he has scored 976 goals across his entire career.