Cristiano Ronaldo may soon be trading his boots for a managerial role, with former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker Michael Owen backing the Portuguese superstar to move into coaching after retirement.
At 39 years old, Ronaldo is still going strong at Al-Nassr, where he’s in the final year of his contract, and there’s talk of extending his stay.
Despite being in the twilight of his career, Ronaldo shows no signs of slowing down, both at the club and international levels, with 212 caps and 130 goals for Portugal to his name.
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Ronaldo's potential future in coaching
Michael Owen, a former teammate at Real Madrid, believes that Ronaldo could have a bright future as a coach, potentially taking charge of top clubs like Manchester United or Real Madrid. Speaking to TVSporten, Owen shared his thoughts on Ronaldo’s post-retirement plans, especially compared to his long-time rival, Lionel Messi.
"I'd be fascinated to see what Cristiano Ronaldo is going to do when he retires," Owen said. "Their life has been in football, and they absolutely love the sport. Whether they can walk away from it remains to be seen. They might want to go and own a club, but I would say the likely person out of the two to manage would be Ronaldo."
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Owen pointed to Ronaldo’s passion for coaching, which was evident when he played a key role from the sidelines during Portugal’s Euro 2016 final victory. "He looks like a coach; he looks like he wants to coach. The Portugal job, probably in the future, we might have his name on it. You never know," Owen added.
With a wealth of experience and a winning mentality, Ronaldo could indeed be an attractive candidate for top managerial positions in the future. While he could easily enjoy a life of luxury post-retirement, Owen suggests that the competitive fire in Ronaldo might just drive him to the sidelines as a manager.
Whether Ronaldo will follow this path remains to be seen, but the football world will be watching closely as one of the greatest players of all time nears the end of his playing career.