Forty-one-year-old Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo has been selected for his national team in the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup. This makes him the first male player in history to feature in six World Cups. Well, it is actually bad news for the fans and the team.
There was a time when Ronaldo used to carry his team single-handedly. He would decide games in seconds and change the mood of an entire stadium with one move. That was Ronaldo at his peak, back when he was carving his name among the greats of football history.
But the last three to four years have been different for him. He has become a burden—too slow, unaware of his position. He has lost his clinical finishes and he often claims his teammates’ goals as if they were his own.
A reality check
Ronaldo’s stint in the Saudi League’s Al Nassr hasn’t been impressive. Even though the team failed to win a major trophy after Ronaldo joined the club in 2022, the coach didn’t dare bench him. It’s not that Ronaldo didn’t score great goals at Al Nassr. Obviously, he did. But that class and consistency are now rusty. It’s beyond repair, and Portugal will have to admit it soon and make peace with it.
In the 2022 World Cup, Portugal coach Fernando Santos made the bold decision to bench Ronaldo against Switzerland in the Round of 16. Gonçalo Ramos started in his place and scored a hat-trick as Portugal thrashed Switzerland 6-1. That match says a lot about Ronaldo’s current form.
This Portugal side can actually go on to the finals and might just produce an upset to clinch the title. From Bruno Fernandes’ cutting textbook passes, to Bernando Silva weaving dribbles in the midfield, to Rafael Leao’s blazing pace, this Portugal team is the country’s most talented generation. And, they might just have one obstacle: Cristiano Ronaldo.
Bruno would not want his passes to just roll outside the corner flag, while Ronaldo desperately chases it, gasping for breath. It would also be unfair for Rafael and Silva when they whiz past the midfield, only to find nobody beside them.
Portugal has midfielders who usually can dominate games, wingers who can destroy defences, and defenders who can stop the likes of Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe. However, somewhere down the line, the team still relies on Ronaldo for that ‘one moment’ of brilliance.
Modern football is all about intense pressing, quick movements, swapping in the midfield and intensity. Now, watching his current game feels painful for football fans because the memories of his heydays are not too old. This is the same man who once dominated the UEFA Champions League, and the same footballer who could leap high enough to place his headers in the top corner.
Nobody is immune to age. And yet the aura survives. But aura doesn’t win trophies. It can attract Instagram followers and millions of likes, but not goals and assists.
Also read: 2026 FIFA World Cup is a generational shift—Messi and Ronaldo ready to pass on rivalry baton
A lesson from Dhoni
In a parallel universe, where Ronaldo and MS Dhoni were friends, the GOAT of football could take a leaf out of captain cool’s book. Dhoni made sure to sit out of the final few CSK matches to make sure the team combination wasn’t impacted. It’s another story that even his skips couldn’t save CSK’s chances in this year’s IPL. But his spirit is worth every bit.
No one can forget the Dhoni dive from the 2019 Cricket World Cup Semi Final. That was his moment of clarity—it was time to hang his boots from international cricket.
For Ronaldo, the message is clear every time he fails to convert most of the one-on-one chances. If he can’t strike a goal even against a lone goalkeeper, maybe Portugal should take the hint.
This makes the situation very awkward for Portugal. Ronaldo’s aura still enters stadiums five minutes before he does. Defenders still track him for that one ‘what if’ moment. Every free-kick still skips a heartbeat, though most of them lately are reaching the top stand of the stadium or hitting the wall with zero power. Sounds so much like Dhoni in CSK jersey in the IPL.
Portugal is unable to differentiate memory from reality now. The nation still sees the 2014 Ronaldo, the 2016 Ronaldo or even the 2021-2022 vintage Ronaldo when he emerged as Manchester United’s top scorer in his second stint for the club.
But four years have passed since then, and nobody in Portugal wants to admit the obvious truth: the team looks better without him, it is faster, more composed.
Portugal’s biggest opponent in the 2026 FIFA World Cup may be Cristiano Ronaldo himself.
(Edited by Janaki Pande)