Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Bold Claim in Interview Deleted Hours After Publication

According to a report by GiveMeSport on Monday October 12, 2026, Cristiano Ronaldo has reignited debate about his status among football’s greatest players after an interview featuring his confident remarks was deleted just hours after publication, attracting widespread attention across the football world.

At 41, the Al-Nassr forward remains convinced he deserves recognition as football’s greatest player, despite increasing discussions about his future and when he might eventually decide to retire from professional football.

His situation contrasts with Lionel Messi, who recently appeared to approach the final stages of his international career with Argentina. Ronaldo, meanwhile, continues pursuing success and believes he belongs among football’s elite.

The Portuguese superstar recently experienced tension with national team manager Jorge Jesus over playing time. The disagreement escalated after Ronaldo reportedly left Portugal’s camp early and liked a social media post criticising his international teammates.

Ronaldo attracted further attention when CNN Portugal published an interview featuring his views on his legacy. According to The Athletic, he confidently declared: “The best in history is me, full stop. The numbers speak for themselves.”

He also discussed his ambition to reach 1,000 career goals, describing the milestone as an exciting objective while explaining that he prefers not to think too far into the future.

Ronaldo reportedly added: “People are not valuing the form I am in, my goals.” His comments have naturally encouraged comparisons with other legendary footballers, including Messi, Pele and Diego Maradona.

Those three icons are frequently considered among football’s greatest players, particularly because each won the World Cup. However, Ronaldo continues highlighting his achievements, statistics and current performances when defending his position in football history.

According to Mundo Deportivo, CNN Portugal subsequently removed several excerpts from the interview hours after publishing them. The decision reportedly resulted from the age of the comments rather than their controversial content.

Several media outlets initially treated the remarks as recent developments. However, they actually originated from a 2025 interview conducted by Ronaldo’s friend Edu Aguirre for Spanish television network La Sexta.

During that conversation, Ronaldo also discussed retirement, admitting he could not predict when he would stop playing and might eventually wake up without the motivation to continue his professional career.

Despite previously indicating that the 2026 World Cup would represent his final opportunity to win the tournament, Ronaldo has not confirmed when he intends to end his international career.

Following his disagreement with Jesus, the forward insisted he remained available for Portugal whenever physically fit, provided he had served any suspension that might be imposed on him.

Jesus has also confirmed that Ronaldo remains welcome in Portugal’s national team, explaining that discussions could take place before the next squad announcement, although the final decision belongs to the player.

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