Cristiano Ronaldo's Unmatched Longevity in Football
Teddy Sheringham has seen most things in football. Yet even he admits Cristiano Ronaldo is stretching the limits of what is possible for a professional athlete.
The former England striker believes Ronaldo is so physically honed, so obsessively driven, that the Portuguese icon could keep playing until he is 50.
“Could Cristiano Ronaldo play into his 50s at this rate? It wouldn’t surprise me when you look at his body at 41. He’s still as fit as a fiddle,” Sheringham told BOYLE Sports. “He’s had his own training team for the past 15 years to keep him in tip top shape and as long as he still has the desire then he will keep going but it’s tough when you get to that age, getting out of bed every day to go and do your training.”
This is the Ronaldo story now: not just goals and trophies, but defiance of time itself.
His regime has become part of modern football folklore. Restrictive diet. Cryotherapy. Extra sessions when others have gone home. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has built a body that looks engineered for longevity, and he has matched it with a mentality that refuses to accept the usual expiry date of a superstar forward.
Most great players are winding down or long retired by their mid-30s. Ronaldo, into his 40s, is still preparing to lead Portugal into another World Cup, targeting glory in North America in 2026. The stage keeps changing; his ambition does not.
Sheringham is convinced that as long as the numbers stay strong and the hunger remains, Ronaldo will carry on.
“I’m sure he still loves what he’s doing and he’s playing in a league that’s obviously not as strong as other competitions around the world, but if you’re still scoring goals and people still want you to play, then why not keep going,” he said. “He has an air of invincibility around him, and he’s got the body as well and the fitness, so I think we’ve got plenty of years of Ronaldo to come yet.”
There is, however, one door Sheringham believes is firmly shut: a return to elite European football.
Ronaldo has already taken the full tour. England with Manchester United. Spain with Real Madrid. Italy with Juventus. League titles, Champions League crowns, records smashed and re-smashed. The chapter feels complete, and Sheringham does not see a late twist.
“Can I see Cristiano Ronaldo coming back to Real Madrid to play under Jose Mourinho again? Definitely not. He will not be coming back to Europe,” he insisted.
Romantics might dream of one last run at the Bernabéu, a final Champions League anthem with Ronaldo on the pitch. Sheringham points instead to the realities of the modern game: the financial structures, the tactical demands, the long-term planning of Europe’s superclubs. At this stage of Ronaldo’s career, nostalgia alone is not enough to reopen that door.
If there is to be another move, Sheringham expects it to be across the Atlantic rather than back across the Mediterranean.
He can see the appeal of MLS. A new market, a softer spotlight than Europe, but still a global platform. Lionel Messi has already lit up the league; Ronaldo joining him on American soil would send the sport’s profile in North America into another stratosphere.
“He might go to America though if he wants to experience something else,” Sheringham added. “You could see that, and he’d certainly light MLS up like no one else can. Maybe it will all come down to what he wants to do once he finally does retire.”
For now, the story is still being written in Saudi Arabia and on the international stage. Ronaldo remains the face of the Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr, and he once again carries a nation’s hopes as Portugal begin their 2026 World Cup campaign on Wednesday against DR Congo in Group K.
The clock says one thing. His body and his numbers say another.
At this rate, the real question is not whether Ronaldo can play into his 50s, but who is brave enough to bet against him.
