Will Cristiano Ronaldo Finish His Career In Italy at Juventus?

The footballing phenomenon that is Cristiano Ronaldo is still going strong at 35-years-old, and it begs the question – will he try his luck anywhere else in the world before calling it a day?

With 5 goals in his last 5 outings for Juventus, Ronaldo now has 26 goals in 27 Serie A games this season – the exact same tally he had in his final La Liga season with Real Madrid. It comes after notching a commendable 21 last season, and many thought that would be his best return for Juve.

Though in true Ronaldo fashion, he’s come back even stronger and continues to prove that he’s the best footballer in the world right now – guiding Juve to the Serie A title, and scoring ever-amazing goals for the club.

His stay in Turin is due to expire in 2022, by which time he’ll be 37-years-old. As old as that sounds for most footballers, do we really expect Ronaldo to be slowing down to the point of retirement by then? Hardly. Scientists have long told Ronaldo that, because of his unique body shape and physique, he could potentially play at the top of football for another 10 or 15 years.

But when asked about this in interviews, Ronaldo always responds with – “I can play for longer if I want to.” He may not want to be football’s superstar into his 50s, he’ll understandably want to retire and spend time experiencing everything else that life has to offer.

So when, or rather where might Ronaldo retire? He’s a few options left – a return to Portugal seems to make sense, a fleeting return to Manchester United has never been ruled out, a season at Paris Saint Germain maybe, or even an MLS adventure.

The possibilities are endless for Ronaldo, but first, let’s look at the case for him staying in Turin at Juventus. He’s earning a reported 30 million euros a year. By this point though, Ronaldo doesn’t need any more money – he could sign a dead-weight contract with Lecce and he’d still be one of the richest men in Italy.

What’s more is that Ronaldo seems content at Juve. He no doubts moved to the club to try and take over Europe with them, to try and restore their dominance of old with him at the forefront. That could yet become the case, and if it does then it’d be a fitting way to end his footballing career.

But being the global superstar that he is, he might yet feel that more parts of the world deserve him. For that reason, Ronaldo’s next signing with an MLS club seems the likelier option than say Paris Saint Germain, Manchester United, or a return to Sporting Lisboa.

Although the MLS has lost its way a little bit in recent seasons, it’s still a rapidly growing league, and with David Beckham’s Inter Miami up and running, they could be the only team wealthy enough, or perhaps glamorous enough to host Ronaldo.

The only thing we know is that Ronaldo is a Juventus player. He’ll head into the pre-season looking forward to the next season with Juve. But he himself will recognize that there are millions of people around the world who’d love to see him in the flesh and with the option to play well past his 40s, who’s to say that Ronaldo won’t take his abilities right around the world?