According to a report, former Brazilian midfielder Ricardo Kaka said on Friday that Cristiano Ronaldo wants to retire ‘by playing’. Kaka and Ronaldo were teammates for Real Madrid in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
In a recent interview, the world cup winner praised the mentality of the Portuguese superstar. He said,” I think he wants to quit football by playing. I understand him, he is a special player. Players like him bring to the team a simple concept. Winning is not like losing. I have the feeling that many young players don’t understand this.”
The 37-year-old forward is currently playing for Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr. However, he is yet to find the target. Talking about Ronaldo’s mentality, Kaka compared him with other great champions of the game. He said, “If they win, it’s great, if not it doesn’t matter. It’s not like this. Maldini was a great example of this. He had won four Champions League and he wanted the fifth. Players like him make the difference, Zlatan can still be useful thanks to his mentality.”
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The Portuguese, who turns 38 in February, has enjoyed a spectacular career which has seen him win five Ballon d’Ors and win a bucket load of trophies with Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Portugal.
Recently, Al Nassr coach Rudi Garcia also emphasized that the 2016 Euro cup winner will retire in Europe. He moved to Saudi Arabia in a $173 million-a-year move after the World Cup where his team was knocked out of the tournament by a resurgent Morocco.
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Recently, the Portuguese publication Record claimed that the 5-times champions league winner wanted to quit his national team during the World Cup. The report said Ronaldo had a heated discussion with coach Fernando Santos after he was told he wouldn’t start against Switzerland and threatened to leave immediately.
Ronaldo’s contract with Manchester United was also terminated, rather acrimoniously after his controversial interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan. In the same interview he had claimed that he will hang up his boots at the age of 40.
Ronaldo is arguably one of the most successful footballers of all times. Despite his dismal performance in the premier league, his stature as a footballer earned him the extravagant move to the middle east club.
