Cristiano Ronaldo shared a message on social media after leading Al-Nassr to a 2-1 win over Al Rayyan on Monday, September 30. His former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand also reacted to the post.
Al Nassr hosted Al Rayyan at Al-Awwal Park in their AFC Champions League Group B encounter on Monday. Sadio Mane scored in the first minute of first-half stoppage time. Cristiano Ronaldo made it 2-0 in the 76th minute with a superb finish with his left foot from inside the box.
Roger Guedes scored a goal for the visitors in the 87th minute, but the Knights of Najd held on for the win. After the game, Ronaldo shared some pictures from the match on his X account, writing:
“Hard work pays off. Let’s keep going!”
Rio Ferdinand reacted to the post, writing:
“Shock”
Cristiano Ronaldo and Rio Ferdinand shared the pitch 221 times during their time together at Manchester United and have been good friends ever since.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese has now reached 904 career goals for club and country. He has scored six goals and provided two assists in seven games for Al-Nassr this season. They are third in their AFC Champions League group and fourth in the Saudi Pro League.
Cristiano Ronaldo opens up about his retirement in conversation with Rio Ferdinand
Cristiano Ronaldo is currently 39 years old and will turn 40 in February 2025. He is still performing well for both club and country. However, he is certainly in the twilight of his life now and must be considering his retirement plans.
Many believe the Portuguese player might go into coaching after he retires. However, in a conversation with Rio Ferdinand on his YouTube channel UR Cristiano, he opted for a different option. He said (via The Mirror):
“It will be difficult for me to become a coach one day, because I don’t have the passion for this generation, it’s especially difficult in football, because they don’t take advice from our experience.
They think they know everything, they think phones will give you a good education, TikTok, Instagram.
“I’m looking forward to other things as well, another chapter in my life being part of the business, which I’m excited about. It’ll be a challenge for me and I’ll learn about other areas I didn’t know, get more involved in my business and I think that’ll be great.”
However, Cristiano Ronaldo has also spoken about his desire to reach the 1000 goal mark for club and country. So, we might probably see him in action for a few more years before hanging up his boots.