Cristiano Ronaldo to hang up boots if Portugal win World Cup

Cristiano Ronaldo has announced that he will retire from professional football if Portugal win the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The Portuguese star said in a TV interview with British journalist and television presenter Piers Morgan that he will "100 percent" hang up his boots if his national team bags the tournament in Qatar.

The team captain said Portugal are not the favourites of the upcoming tournament, and he thinks France are the toughest opponent.

He said his arch-rival, Lionel Messi, is a "magic" player and added that Messi and France legend Zinedine Zidane are probably the best players in the world, excluding himself.

The 37-year-old also said he refused to become the most-paid player in the world by turning down a $362 million offer from a Saudi club.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is in his second stint at Manchester United after playing for Real Madrid and Juventus for multiple seasons.

Ronaldo became the first player in history to reach 700 club goals last month when he scored against Everton in an English Premier League match.

World Cup chances

He said he believes his country has an excellent group of players, and they are capable of doing well in the World Cup in Qatar.

Ronaldo said he had dreamt of winning the World Cup, but knows it will be extremely difficult to lift the trophy with teams like France, Spain, Argentina, Germany and Brazil to face.

"I am very optimistic. We have a fantastic coach, we have a good generation of football players. I'm looking forward that we're going to an amazing World Cup," Ronaldo told Morgan

"It's gonna be tough. Extremely difficult. But everything is possible, of course, we're gonna compete."

Ronaldo is one goal away in the upcoming World Cup from becoming the first-ever player to score in 5 different World Cup tournaments after scoring in 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 tournaments.

He also has a chance to become the fourth player to have played in five different World Cups after Mexico's duo Antonio Carbajal and Rafael Marquez, and Germany's Lothar Matthaus.