Portugal and Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has reiterated his commitment to the sport, claiming his passion to be still intact even two decades after his professional debut.
Ronaldo, 37, has recently found himself warming the bench for the Red Devils following a pre-season of uncertainty. Earlier this summer, the veteran striker failed to engineer a move away from Old Trafford in order to pursue UEFA Champions League action at another club.
Under new head coach Erik ten Hag, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner has started just three matches, with only one coming in the Premier League. He has netted just once, from the penalty spot in his team's recent 2-0 win over Sheriff Tiraspol in the UEFA Europa League, in eight appearances.
Speaking in a promotional video for LiveScore on Twitter, Ronaldo asserted that he still has the enthusiasm to achieve more. He said:
"I still feel excited on a matchday. My first memories were an unbelievable atmosphere in the stadium, people screaming, the sound, the players."
He added:
"I still love and have passion for the game because the people who know me, they know this is my life. This is what I love to do. My passion is still intact."
Earlier this week, the former Real Madrid man claimed that he is well-prepared to lead his national team to future glory and has no plans to hang up his boots in the near future. He said (via Observador):
"I still feel motivated. I feel that my ambition is still up there. I am in a national team with many young players still, with an extraordinary future and obviously, I want to be a part of this World Cup and the European Championship as well."
He will next be in action for Portugal and is currently preparing with the Fernando Santos-coached team for their UEFA Nations League clash against the Czech Republic on Saturday (September 24).
Cristiano Ronaldo aims to win elusive FIFA World Cup trophy with Portugal
Set to appear at his fifth FIFA World Cup in Qatar later this year, Cristiano Ronaldo will hope to lift the much-coveted trophy in what is likely to be his final appearance in the quadrennial tournament.
Currently ranked ninth in the world, Portugal have been drawn in Group H alongside Uruguay, South Korea and Ghana. The tournament is set to kick off on November 21, with the final on December 18.
JoyNg
24
The GREATEST OF ALL TIME🐐 Have spoken🔥 The next mission is this World Cup edition🏆 GOAT FOR WOLD CUP GLORY💪🇵🇹🐐💕
Mangisha
12
I respect Ronaldo massively, just not some of his fans. Here is my opinion. Ronaldo kind of greatly affected his career, I mean what is left of it, by leaving Juventus. Leaving RM wasn't a bad; the president and the fans didn't really give him the respect he deserved after helping RM win all that they won. You could hear Camp Nou calling/singing, "Messi, Messi, Messi", clapping and doing all sorts of things to appreciate Messi. I doubt there was such a thing at the Bernabeu for Ronaldo. The wrong decision he had, for me, was leaving Juventus. I get it that Juventus turned out not to be the team he thought it would be, but leaving or rather rushing to leave Turin to join Man U was very miscalculated, to say the least. And he basically hit the last nail into the coffin by wanting to force himself out of Man U. That was a very wrong msg to people at Man U who really have brains, people like Ten Hag. It showed that he was only going to be there if things were going smoothly, and that was kind of this way even at Juventus. Ronaldo seems to be wanting out when things don't go his way. But a player shd also try to hang around when things are bad. Makes some of us think he is obsessed with Messi. I can assure him he will never win this battle, Messi lives naturally. To compare or compete with him, you have to be natural. Don't force things. Ronaldo force things sometimes.