Brazilian great Ronaldo Nazario has explained why Cristiano Ronaldo is no longer the unstoppable force he once was, saying the physical decline that comes with age eventually overrides even the sharpest football mind.
Cristiano’s World Cup finale ended quietly, with Portugal eliminated in the round of 16 by Spain and the forward managing just three goals across the tournament, well short of the expectations placed on him beforehand. Speaking on ESPN Brasil’s Resenha do 9, Ronaldo addressed why both Cristiano and Neymar have lost the explosiveness that once defined their games.
“Normally your body lets you know you can’t keep up anymore,” Ronaldo said. “I think both Cristiano and Neymar reached that point of agreement between themselves and their bodies, that the battle with your body is really a tough one, very hard to win.”
Ronaldo said Cristiano still had the level to compete in Saudi Arabia’s top flight, but that a World Cup now demands more than his body can deliver. “Cristiano had even greater longevity, but maybe he’s still got the level to play in Saudi Arabia, while at a World Cup, we’ve seen it’s a lot harder, the level is a lot higher,” he said.
The former Real Madrid and Barcelona striker said physical decline forces even the most explosive players to completely rework how they play, until the body itself sets the limit. “Before, you used to blow past everyone, run right through them. Now it’s not like that anymore, you have to find other solutions,” Ronaldo said. “Despite our passion, our love for the game, our desire to keep playing forever, I think in the end, the body is what decides for us.”
Cristiano finished the 2026 World Cup with three goals in six appearances: a scoreless opener against DR Congo, a brace against Uzbekistan in the group stage, and a penalty against Croatia in the round of 32. He went quiet after that, failing to score in Portugal’s last-16 exit, a 1-0 defeat to Spain settled by Mikel Merino’s stoppage-time winner.
He still left his mark on the tournament, becoming the first player in history to score at six different World Cups. But the campaign closed on a subdued note, with Cristiano confirming it as the end of his international career.
