Cristiano Ronaldo Tipped By O'Shea To Lead Portugal As Future Manager

Cristiano Ronaldo has been tipped by John O'Shea to one day manage Portugal once he concludes his playing career. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is part of Portugal's squad for Euro 2024, which they kick off with a match against the Czech Republic next Tuesday. This will be Ronaldo's 13th major international tournament and potentially his last, given he will be 41 by the time of the next World Cup.

Despite his age, Ronaldo continues to score regularly for Al Nassr at the club level and netted 10 times in Euro 2024 qualifying. When the forward eventually retires, former Manchester United teammate O'Shea can see him moving into coaching. Speaking ahead of Tuesday's friendly with Portugal, Republic of Ireland interim head coach O'Shea said:

"Knowing the type of person he is, the dedication and professionalism he has, I am sure he has plans to carry on in terms of Portugal and where he's going to go. I'm sure he has ambitions, further down the line, to manage his country also in tournaments to come - if he wants to bring those pressures on himself. He's had no problem taking the pressure of his country throughout his career. Whatever his next steps will be, I am sure they will be positive for Portugal."

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The 10 goals scored by Ronaldo in qualifying were bettered only by Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku (14). The 39-year-old is the leading scorer in men's international football, netting 128 goals in 206 matches, including 14 in the European Championship finals.

"You see in Saudi, he's scored some goals for this team, and you also see the impact he's had with his goalscoring for Portugal in the campaign to qualify for the Euros, too," O'Shea added. "I've no doubt whatever plans or rotations Portugal will have to use him, to maximise how far they get in the tournament, I think Ronaldo will be a key part of that, definitely."

2016 champions Portugal will also face Turkiye and Georgia in their Group F campaign.