After 8 Months Older Wayne Rooney’s Jibe at Aging, 38YO Cristiano Ronaldo Fires Back With 2026 World Cup Decision

Cristiano Ronaldo and his former Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney may be the same age but the pair have had vastly different careers when it comes to longevity. Ronaldo is 8 months older than Rooney, with both players born in 1985. But after Rooney’s jibe at Ronaldo last year, the Portuguese star has proved the Englishman wrong.

Rooney has been forced to eat his own words after suggesting last year that Ronaldo was finding aging “hard to deal with”. This is because Ronaldo has now reportedly asked to extend his contract at Al Nassr with a view to playing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Cristiano Ronaldo defies Wayne Rooney’s jibe by looking to play in the 2026 FIFA World Cup

As we reported earlier, Ronaldo has asked his current club Al Nassr for a contract extension up to 2027. He is looking to represent Portugal at the 2026 FIFA World Cup which is to be held in the US, Canada, and Mexico.

Ronaldo’s ex-Manchester United teammate poked a jibe at Ronaldo last year following the Portuguese star’s difficult start to his 2nd stint at Old Trafford.

Speaking about Ronaldo, Rooney in conversation with CNN in 2022 said, “He’s a fantastic player. Him and Messi are probably the two best players to play the game. It’s not criticism, what I’ve said is age comes to all of us, Cristiano is finding it hard to deal with that.”

However, since Rooney’s words, Ronaldo has successfully resurrected his career in Saudi Arabia since joining Al Nassr in January 2023 scoring 25 goals in 30 games for the Saudi outfit. But what kind of impact could the Portuguese soccer icon have at the next World Cup?

Also read: Despite 2 Losses & Conceding 12 Goals, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr Will Win Saudi Pro League, Claims Legend of Karim Benzema’s Al Ittihad

Can Ronaldo make it to the 2026 FIFA World Cup or is he declining?

Although Ronaldo harbors aspirations to play for Portugal at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, he is currently 38 and will be 41 when the World Cup kicks off. Some recent stats reveal that he is on a decline, which also perhaps suggests Wayne Rooney’s statement is not entirely wrong.

According to the stats, Kylian Mbappe, Robert Lewandowski, and Lionel Messi rank in the top 3 for goals and assists over the past 5 years. But Ronaldo only features 8th on the list. The Al Nassr forward has 195 goals + assists scoring 166 and assisting only 29 in 235 matches, which pales in comparison to the likes of Kylian Mbappe (319 G+A), Lewandowski (317 G+A), and Messi (295 G+A), in the top 3.

This is surely a pivotal statistic that suggests that the argument that age is catching up to Ronaldo isn’t entirely false. Of course, he is 38 now and these stats are between the ages of 33 to 38, but whether he can feature let alone be decisive for Portugal at the 2026 World Cup remains a matter of debate.

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