Cristiano Ronaldo is Well Past His Peak, Admits Portugal Teammate Joao Cancelo

Joao Cancelo has said that Cristiano Ronaldo is still an "important player" for Portugal even though he is well beyond his peak years.

Ronaldo has earned more caps, 205, and scored more goals, 128, for the Portugal national team than any other player past or present.

At the age of 39, Ronaldo is likely to be one of the oldest players involved in this summer's Euro 2024 tournament in Germany.

Cancelo, 29, told Portuguese network RTP this week that Ronaldo "is an important player and spent 15 years competing with [Lionel] Messi for the Ballon d'Or, but the peak of a footballer's career is between the ages of 25 and 32.

"He is an important player for us, but the national team does not depend entirely on him."

Ronaldo scored 10 goals in nine appearances for Portugal in 2023.

He ended last year as the highest-scoring player in world soccer, having netted 54 goals for Portugal and club side Al Nassr.

Joao Cancelo (left) and Cristiano Ronaldo pictured during Portugal's 4-2 win over Serbia in 2019

IMAGO/Aleksandar Djorovic