"I Will Retire": Cristiano Ronaldo On Qatar World Cup 'Fantasy' Involving Lionel Messi

One of the finest footballers of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo has turned quite a few heads, courtesy of his explosive interview with British journalist Piers Morgan. From slamming the lack of development at his club Manchester United to hailing his arch-rival Lionel Messi, Ronaldo has had some big revelations to make in the 2-part 90-minute interview. In the second part of the interview, which was released on Thursday, Ronaldo also spoke about a situation involving Lionel Messi that might push him to call time on his career.

It was Piers Morgan who put a hypothetical situation in front of Ronaldo. The British journalist said: "Portugal are in the FIFA World Cup final against Argentina. You have scored 2 goals, Lionel Messi has scored 2 goals. In the 94th minute, you score the third goal to complete your hat-trick and Portugal win the World Cup."

Amused by the idea, Ronaldo said: "It's too good". The Portuguese stalwart further said that he will be the happiest man on the field even if the Portuguese goalkeeper scored the goal and his team won the World Cup.

Returning back to the question Morgan has posed, Ronaldo said if that happens, "he will finish football, will retire".

In the interview, Ronaldo also spoke about his admiration for Messi who, alongside Ronaldo, has been the most dominant player over the last 15 years or so.

"He is an amazing player. Magic. Top. As a person, we share the stage 16 years. Imagine 16 years. So, I have great relationship with him," Ronaldo said in the interview.

"I'm not a friend of him, in terms of what I mean as a friend who was with you in your house or speaking on the phone.

"No, but it's like a teammate. He's a guy that I really respect the way he always speaks about me. Even his wife or my wife, my girlfriend, they always have respect and they're from Argentina.

"My girlfriend is from Argentina. So good. What I am going to say about Messi? A great guy who does great things for football."

As far as his ultimate retirement plans go, Ronaldo confirmed that he is keen to play until he is 40.

"I want to play two years more, three years more. So two or three years maximum. I want to finish at 40. I think 40 will be a good age... but I don't know, I don't know the future," he said. "Sometimes you plan one thing for your life and as I said many times, the life is dynamic and you never know what's going to happen."

Ronaldo has already started practicing with the Portugal national team in Qatar. He will, however, not be available for the clash against Nigeria. Having also admitted that this is most likely his last World Cup, the legendary forward is keen to add another trophy to his cabinet.

Topics mentioned in this article

Portugal Argentina Lionel Messi Football Cristiano Ronaldo