‘Cristiano Ronaldo wants to quit football by playing’: Kaka

Cristiano Ronaldo signed a deal to June 2025 with Al Nassr, apparently after rejecting offers from Europe, North America and beyond.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka joined Real Madrid in the same summer transfer window of 2009.

However, their careers followed a different path as Kaka would fade away soon while Ronaldo would go on to reach greater heights of glory.

Now as Ronaldo reaches the twilight of his storied career, Kaka praised his former teammate's desire to win and said, “I think he wants to quit football by playing. I understand him, he is a special player.”

“Players like him bring to the team a simple concept. Winning is not like losing. I have the feeling that many young players don't understand this,” he was quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport.“If they win, it's great, if not it doesn't matter. It's not like this. Maldini was a great example of this. He had won four Champions League and he wanted the fifth. Players like him make the difference, Zlatan can still be useful thanks to his mentality,” he added.

Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner who starred for Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United, is set to turn 38 years of age a few days later.

He signed a deal to June 2025 with Al Nassr, apparently after rejecting offers from Europe, North America and beyond.

Media reports have claimed the Portugal star could be earning up to $200 million a year from the deal, which would make him the highest-paid soccer player in history.

Al Nassr president Musalli Almuammar would not confirm the figures in Ronaldo's two-and-a-half-year contract but said the 37-year-old deserves to be the highest paid player on the planet.

Ronaldo failed to score in his Saudi Pro League debut for Al Nassr.