'The world loves me': Cristiano Ronaldo dismisses critics as 'rats' as he sets out new retirement timeline

Cristiano Ronaldo has described his critics as "rats" as he outlined a new timeline for his retirement.

Ronaldo remains one of the most decorated players in football history, and earlier this week scored the 901st goal of his remarkable career as Portugal beat Scotland.

The Al-Nassr forward faced criticism over the summer after failing to score for Portugal at Euro 2024, with some suggesting using Ronaldo at the focal point was detrimental.

Ronaldo, though, dismissed any criticism as "rats" talking, insisting instead that "the world loves me.”

"People always take the worst part, not always the good part," he told Rio Ferdinand Presents. "But I'm not going to finish my career because two rats criticise me.

"The world loves me, the fans love me. This is my motivation to carry on playing football. People love me.

"No one is going to take my shine away because two people from TV that nobody knows criticise me."

Ronaldo recently declared he wanted to score 1000 professional goals despite turning 39 years old in February, and believes he has a few years left in him to reach the milestone.

He added: "I give everything, I have given my body for 25 years to football ... I know that for two or three more years I can produce something good, but I after that I don't even want to think about that."

"You think I am going to cry [when I retire] with everything I have in my life? Well, maybe a little bit!"