Cristiano RonaldoPlayer·Cristiano Ronaldo remains at the centre of football’s long-running debate over greatness, with his place among the best players never to win a World Cup again in focus as Portugal head into the 2026 tournament. The discussion has sharpened because Ronaldo arrives in strong club form, having helped Al-Nassr win the Saudi Pro League title in 2025-26, yet the World Cup remains the one major honour absent from his career.
Ronaldo’s recent numbers underline why the conversation has not faded. He scored 28 goals and supplied two assists in 30 league matches for Al-Nassr, finished the season with 30 goals and four assists in 37 appearances across all competitions, and reached both his 100th goal for the club and the 950th goal of his career. He also added another personal marker to his portfolio when his bicycle kick against Al-Khaleej was voted the Saudi Pro League Goal of the Season, giving him back-to-back seasonal awards.
That club output matters because the World Cup debate has never been only about legacy; it is also about timing. Ronaldo enters what is widely viewed as his final realistic chance to add the tournament to a career that already includes five Ballon d’Or awards, a European Championship, a Nations League title and an all-time scoring record for men’s international football. He now goes to the finals as Portugal captain for a record sixth World Cup, with 143 goals in 226 caps.
The broader argument around players who never won a World Cup has long included names such as Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini, Ferenc Puskás, Paolo Maldini and EusébioPlayer·Eusébio, and Ronaldo has joined that conversation because his trophy cabinet is otherwise so complete. The distinction is important: in football, the World Cup is the sport’s most visible team prize, but it is not the only measure of an individual career. Ronaldo’s case is the clearest modern example of that tension.
What makes his standing especially compelling is that he did have genuine opportunities with Portugal, rather than the hypothetical status of some earlier greats whose national teams were not strong enough to contend. That history keeps the debate alive each time a World Cup comes around. It also gives the 2026 tournament an unusually direct narrative line: if Portugal go deep, Ronaldo can finally move out of the “best never to win it” frame; if they fall short, that label will follow him to the end of his career.
For now, the facts are simple. Ronaldo has won almost everything a player can win at club and continental level, and he remains productive at 41. The missing World Cup does not erase his standing, but it does ensure that every tournament he enters is judged against the same question: can one of the game’s defining forwards complete the only major prize still beyond him?
Cristiano Ronaldo (7) in action for Portugal during a friendly match against Nigeria. ZUMA Press Wire/IMAGO
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