In Lisbon, an old Cristiano Ronaldo interview has returned at the most combustible moment. Remarks made in 2025, in which the 41-year-old declared himself football’s greatest player, spread rapidly after being republished during Portugal’s recent Nations League window, shortly after his abrupt departure from the national squad.
Key takeaways
- Ronaldo’s 2025 comments resurfaced briefly on CNN Portugal before the broadcaster removed them within hours.
- The interview was originally conducted for La Sexta by Edu Aguirre, a friend of the former Real Madrid forward.
- Portugal’s captain left the latest international camp early and travelled to Denmark on a private aircraft sent to collect him.
- Ronaldo accused new Portugal coach Jorge Jesus of failing to honour a promise, while the Portuguese Football Federation president sought to calm the dispute.
- He has said he wants recognition alongside figures such as Pelé and Diego Maradona, amid growing discussion over when he may retire.
An interview revived in a difficult international window
The disputed footage was not a new Ronaldo appearance. It came from an interview recorded in 2025, but its re-emergence coincided with an unsettled period around Portugal’s national team. CNN Portugal removed the material a few hours after publishing it, with the interview no longer available to watch or read there.
Among the lines attracting the strongest reaction was Ronaldo’s insistence that there was no debate over his place in the game’s history. “I am the best in history, full stop,” he said in the interview.
He also argued that the public had not fully appreciated his continued level or the scale of his scoring record. The comments travelled widely online, sharpened by the circumstances of his exit from the Portugal gathering.
Ronaldo’s early departure became a major national talking point after a private jet was urgently arranged to bring him from the camp to Denmark. His subsequent statement said Jorge Jesus had broken his word. The federation’s president then attempted to mediate in the disagreement.
Respect, records and an uncertain final chapter
The veteran forward has made clear that he believes the standing of his career should be treated with the same regard afforded to Pelé and Diego Maradona. For Portugal, where Ronaldo has been the defining figure of a generation, the argument arrives as questions intensify over both his role and the timing of any eventual farewell.
Yet Ronaldo’s own words in the 2025 conversation showed that he had not set a fixed endpoint. He said he was living from day to day and could not be certain what the following morning might bring.
“I could wake up one day without the motivation to continue playing,” he said, adding that he did not know whether that could happen. In the present climate, those reflections have taken on new weight: a player still demanding recognition at the summit of the sport, but with Portugal’s latest window exposing the strain around his international future.
