Kátia Aveiro has added fresh fuel to Cristiano Ronaldo retirement speculation, saying his Portugal farewell is coming soon and calling the 2026 World Cup his “last dance”. She made the comments outside BMO Field in Toronto ahead of Portugal's knockout match with Croatia, where the conversation around Ronaldo was still tied to hard numbers as much as family opinion.

Kátia Aveiro's comments in Toronto

Aveiro did not frame it as an immediate exit. “From the information I have, he can say goodbye. Enjoy it while it lasts. It's not today that he's saying goodbye, but it's soon,” she told reporters. She followed that up with a firmer line: “I believe this is his farewell. Enjoy it a lot. It will be difficult to find someone like him.”

She also drew a line between the national team and the rest of Ronaldo's career. “After 1,000 goals [he will retire]? Yes, that's something. I'm talking about the national team. The information I have, from a reliable source, I believe this [World Cup] is his last dance,” she said. That is speculation, not confirmation, and Ronaldo has not yet confirmed his international future.

The numbers around Ronaldo's future

The retirement chatter lands with extra force because the scale of Ronaldo's Portugal record is already settled. He has 231 caps and 145 goals for his country, both men's international records. He went into the Croatia match on 975 career goals and 1,329 senior appearances, leaving him 25 short of the 1,000-goal milestone.

There is also the present-day form to consider. Ronaldo has scored three goals in four World Cup appearances in 2026, with two of those coming against Uzbekistan. That does not settle the future one way or the other, but it does show the discussion is happening while he is still contributing at the tournament.

The practical read is fairly clear. Aveiro's comments make the farewell talk louder, yet they stop short of an official end point. The next concrete marker is Ronaldo's own position, and until he states it, the talk around Portugal remains exactly that, talk.

Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 5 outlets. How we work →