Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed that it's not 'his time' to retire from international football.
Ronaldo, 36, completed a sensational return to United on deadline day and he's since been in excellent form in front of goal for the club, scoring six goals in eight games, and he's also been in prolific form for his nation Portugal when on international duty.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner's longevity is as impressive as his world-class ability, however, he's recently been subject to some criticism which has suggested that his defensive work rate is poor - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ronaldo have denied such claims.
However, Ronaldo is undoubtedly firmly in the autumn of his career and he's now been asked whether he plans to retire from international football to prioritise his club commitments with United, like other players at a similar age have before him.
Ronaldo was keen to stress that he wants to carry on playing with Portugal, though.
“But why have they [players of his age] retried? I think it’s not my time already," Ronaldo told Sky Sports.
"It’s not when the people want, it’s when I want. It’s when I feel I’m not capable to run, to dribble, to shoot and the power has gone.
“But I still have that stuff, so I want to continue and, as I’ve mentioned, I’m still motivated - that’s the main word. To do my stuff, to make people happy, to make my family happy, to make the fans happy and myself which is the most important.
“I want to put the level even higher. You mention the goalscorer [record] for Portugal national team, I want to make the level higher. You can mention as well, in the Champions League I’m the top scorer, the biggest winner, everything.
“But I want to carry on because I like to play football and it feels good to make people happy."
