Cristiano Ronaldo has spent part of his first international break since retiring from Portugal duty in Lisbon, where he played padel with friends from his early days at Sporting CP.
Portuguese newspaper A Bola published a photo of the Al-Nassr forward at Lisboa Padel as Portugal began their first training camp since their former captain announced his international retirement.
The photo was shared by former Sporting player Luís Lourenço, who appeared alongside Ronaldo, Al-Nassr head coach José Semedo and Miguel Paixão, a close friend of Ronaldo’s and a former Sporting academy player.
Ronaldo retired from international football on 5 November at the age of 41, having scored 146 goals in 234 appearances for Portugal. He captained his country to the Euro 2016 title and Nations League triumphs in 2019 and 2025.
Bernardo Silva takes over as captain in Jorge Jesus’s squad for Portugal’s final Nations League group games against Denmark in Braga on 14 November and Wales in Cardiff on 17 November.
The break also brings another occasion for the Ronaldo family in Lisbon. The Leões de Portugal association will name its day centre for older people at the Estádio José Alvalade after Ronaldo’s mother, Dolores Aveiro. She will attend the naming ceremony on 16 November.
The tribute coincides with the 22nd anniversary of the centre’s opening and honours Dolores’s ties to Sporting. Ronaldo came through the club’s academy and began his professional career there before joining Manchester United in 2003.
Ronaldo continues to play for Al-Nassr following his international retirement. The break has given him a chance to return to the city where his career began and catch up with friends he knew before leaving Portuguese football.
