Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal Career in Fresh Doubt After Sister’s Revelation

The player himself previously gave a statement suggesting everything might be copacetic.

Cristiano Ronaldo felt disrespected during the recent international window. | Lise Åserud/NTB/AFP/Getty Images

It is “more likely” than not Cristiano Ronaldo has already played his last match for the Portugal national team, according to the icon’s sister.

The bold claim follows Ronaldo storming out of camp earlier this month after an apparent disagreement with manager Jorge Jesus. The 41-year-old, Portugal’s greatest ever player and the world record holder in men’s international soccer for both caps and goals, is though to have felt disrespected, accusing Jesus of an “absolute breach of trust.”

Ronaldo later apologized to the Portuguese people and his teammates, and said he would accept punishment from the nation’s soccer federation for his conduct.

Taking his medicine appeared to draw a line under the situation for the Al Nassr superstar. He was provisionally suspended, as per the federation’s rules on walkouts, and could be banned from representing his country for between one and six months.

Ultimately, a return for the UEFA Nations League knockout phase from March onwards—Ronaldo has said his final two dreams in pro soccer are claiming another Nations League title and hitting 1,000 career goals—seemed plausible.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s future with Portugal is as uncertain as ever. | Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images

But fresh doubt has been thrown onto that by the words of his eldest sister, Elma Aveiro.

“It’s more likely a ‘no’ than a ‘yes,’” she said, via A Bola, in reference to Ronaldo returning to the Portugal roster. “I think both [Cristiano and Jesus] are hurt. They experienced it, not me. I’m speaking for my brother. I think it's a situation that’s stalled. We’ll see what happens.

“It’s very complicated. When we’re betrayed, it’s very difficult to go back to normal.”

If Ronaldo doesn’t return, it remains to be seen whether the future would include a standalone farewell match, like the one great rival Lionel Messi just had with Argentina. Either way it would still be a sad and abrupt end to one of the greatest international careers there has ever been.

“My feeling is one of sadness because the Portuguese people unfortunately forget what has already been done and think that things should be done differently now,” Aveiro said, clearly believing the five-time Ballon d’Or has been mistreated. “I'm speechless. It’s very difficult to see my brother go through this. He is one of the people who least deserved this.”

---

Should Ronaldo Have Retired From Portugal Already?

Ronaldo is increasingly ineffective at this level. | Joe Buvid/ISI Photos/Getty Images

Ronaldo’s other sister, Kátia Aveiro, claimed with confidence that the 2026 World Cup would be his ‘last dance’ with Portugal, so it was slightly surprising to see his association with the national team continue as normal at the first opportunity following the tournament. Clearly, the words of his immediate family members don’t always ring true on this particular subject.

But Messi went out on his own terms, choosing the 2026 World Cup final to be his last meaningful action in an Argentina jersey. There is an argument to suggest that Ronaldo should have hung up his Portugal jersey and walked away some time ago, before it reached this point.

Ronaldo is an all-time great and a freak of nature. But playing at an objectively easier level in Saudi Arabia has undoubtedly helped prolong his club career—which he plans to end in 2027.

His numbers started to decline from superhuman level once he left Real Madrid aged 33, but spiked once more upon leaving Europe behind. It’s surely no coincidence that Ronaldo’s 2023–24 season with Al Nassr, during which he turned 39, was the first for nine years in which he averaged at least 1.0 goals per game in league play—something he managed five times for Real Madrid.

At the international level, his impact has been in decline for a while. Ronaldo was ineffective at the 2022 World Cup, aged 37, and was eventually dropped during the tournament.

He has maintained a record of scoring against much weaker teams, typically in a qualifying context, but failed to score at all at Euro 2024. Ronaldo was a hindrance more than a help in a frustrating 2026 World Cup opener against DR Congo in June, and two goals against a debuting Uzbekistan ended a humiliating run of blanks in major tournaments at 10 matches.

Clinging on like he has done lacks the dignity Ronaldo deserves.

---