Cristiano Ronaldo joins Messi and other veterans at the World Cup
The Guardian Sport • 1 min read • Latest: May 30, 2026, 9:35 PM
Last updated May 30, 2026
Cristiano Ronaldo, at 41, will participate in the upcoming World Cup alongside fellow veterans Lionel Messi and Luka Modric. Their presence raises questions about the impact of aging players on team dynamics, particularly for Portugal. The tournament occurs in Canada, the US, and Mexico, and features several players over 40, which may affect performance. The anticipation builds as teams prepare for the competition.
- •Ronaldo will compete in the World Cup at age 41.
- •Messi and Modric also return as prominent veterans.
- •The tournament takes place in Canada, the US, and Mexico.
- •Aging players may affect team performance and strategy.
- •Concerns exist regarding physical limitations of older athletes.
- 9:35 PMThe Guardian Sport — Creaking Cristiano Ronaldo’s presence at World Cup is more a curse than a blessing | Jonathan Wilson
"Veterans such as Messi and Modric are much in evidence at the finals, but an obsession with celebrity may undermine Portugal It turns out that 2022 wasn’t Lionel Messi’s last dance after all. He will turn 39 during the World Cup, but despite concerns over the “muscular overload” that led to him limping out of Inter Miami’s 6-4 win over Philadelphia Union on Sunday, he remains the figure on whom Argentinian hopes rely. Messi won’t be the only veteran in Canada, the US and Mexico: Cristiano Ronaldo, aged 41, will also be there – inevitably, given how his career and Messi’s seem inextricably bound. So will Luka Modric and Edin Dzeko, plus the goalkeepers Manuel Neuer, Craig Gordon, Guillermo Ochoa and Vozinha, all of whom are 40. And there is one 39-year-old other than Messi: the Japan defender Yuto Nagatomo. Continue reading...
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