VOTE: Will Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi make history and feature at FIFA World Cup in 2030?
Published 23/06/2026 at 22:29 GMT+1
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Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will be 45 and 42 respectively by the time the 2030 World Cup concludes, but is it really out of the question for both of them to still be playing in four years' time? After a career breaking records, perhaps there is another ceiling for them to smash through.
'A role model and captain' - Martinez defends Ronaldo ahead of Uzbekistan test
Video credit: SNTV
Ronaldo is no stranger to breaking records, and the latest tumbled when he became the first player to score at six World Cups.
The striker bagged a brace in Portugal's 5-0 victory over Uzbekistan on Tuesday, 20 years after netting at Germany 2006.
Attention now turns to whether or not he could make it to the next edition of the tournament, which will be partly played in his homeland.
Spain, Portugal and Morocco will host the 2030 World Cup.
By that time, Ronaldo will be 45-years-old. Could he possibly play for another cycle?
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ITV pundit and former Manchester United team-mate Gary Neville does not think it is out of the equation.
"It's a stupid thing to say, this," he said. "The next World Cup's in Portugal, Spain and Morocco.
"I would not put it past him to think that he's there in four years. It's ridiculous to say, I know. He could."
Ronaldo's goals against Uzbekistan made him the second-oldest goalscorer in World Cup history.
Only Cameroon icon Roger Milla eclipses him for that record, being 42 years and 39 days old when he netted against Russia at USA '94.
But the oldest ever player at a World Cup is Egypt goalkeeper Essam El Hadary.
He was 45 years and 161 days old when he pulled on the gloves in a game against Saudi Arabia in 2018. So should Ronaldo make it to the 2030 tournament and Portugal go deep in the tournament, he could take that record too.
And a look around the sporting world suggests it is not out of the question.
Sir James Anderson, the England bowler - still playing for Lancashire - won his last international cap weeks shy of his 42nd birthday.
Bernard Hopkins unified boxing's light-heavyweight division when he was 49, while Tom Brady, one of the great NFL quarterbacks, called it a day at 45.
"The hunger and that desire to keep getting in there," said ITV expert and Ronaldo's former team-mate Roy Keane.
"[He's] Desperate to get more goals in the second half [against Uzbekistan]. To me, that's what the great example is for these lads.
"We know that they can be criticised, of course, for maybe sometimes his body language. But that desire and hunger to keep getting goals..."
How about Messi?
And if Ronaldo can make it, what about his rival in the GOAT debate, Messi, someone also known for smashing through ceilings.
The forward's brace in Argentina's 2-0 win over Austria made him the all-time top scorer at World Cups.
Now aged 38, the former Barcelona star also leads the Golden Boot race at the current tournament with five goals.
He will be 42 by the time the 2030 edition concludes, but may be swayed by a simple carrot.
His country, Argentina, will host a game in a centenary celebration of the first World Cup, held in 1930.
Could a World Cup game played on home soil convince him to keep going for another four years?
Time will tell, but after all this time, would you really write either of them off?
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