‘Who knows’ – Cristiano Ronaldo hints at quitting football in the next year or two
Gossip & Rumours
By
Mirror
| Oct 01, 2019
Cristiano Ronaldo has hinted he could quit football 'in the next year or two' - as he bids to transfer his footballing success to the world of business.
Ronaldo has won almost all there is to win on the pitch during his career with Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid and now Juventus.
At 34, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is still on top of his game, still duelling with Barcelona's Lionel Messi for recognition as the greatest of all time.
But his contract with Juve takes him up until the summer of 2022, when he will be 37 - and that could be the time Ronaldo decides to hang up his boots and concentrate on his burgeoning business interests.
CR7 has already launched his own line of underwear, denim, footwear, a fragrance line, a digital agency, restaurants, gyms and hotels.
And he admits he has enjoyed planning for life after football in recent years.
"I still love football," said Ronaldo in an interview with SportBible. "I love to entertain the fans and the people who love Cristiano. It doesn't matter the age, it's all about mentality.
"The last five years I start to enjoy this process of seeing me outside of football, so who knows what will happen in the next year or two?"
The interview cites data from Hookit revealing that Ronaldo is the planet's most popular person on Instagram, with 185 million followers, while across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter he has more followers than any other sportsman.
In 2016 Nike handed him an eye-watering $1billion lifetime deal - only the third such deal the American sportswear giant has ever offered to an athlete.
The previous two were with basketball legends LeBron James and Michael Jordan, both of whom have proved astute businessmen as well as world-class sportsmen.
Ronaldo says he does not want to imitate them but can certainly learn from their work ethic.
"I do not want to imitate anybody," he said. "You have to be yourself all the time, but you can always pick up small details and take something from good examples, not only in football but in other sports as well - Formula 1, NBA, golf, UFC, whatever. The best athletes have a similar work ethic.
"Even the CEOs of great companies are always motivated and they have to work hard to achieve good things."