William Gallas Urges Cristiano Ronaldo To Forget About World Cup Win

Former France international, William Gallas has urged Portuguese football icon, Cristiano Ronaldo, to forgo his dream of winning the FIFA World Cup as a player.

Cristiano Ronaldo has won everything in both club and national team football, but he has not won the biggest trophy in the game, the FIFA World Cup, a bitter fact he is hoping to change in the 2026 edition of the tournament.

After signing his contract extension with the Saudi Pro League club, Al Nassr, in June 2025, Cristiano Ronaldo said he decided not to join a club that was featuring at the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup because of his need to rest ahead of the forthcoming season.

The 40-year-old Portuguese football icon stressed that he aims to lead his country at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada with the hope of winning it.

But in an interview with Prime Casino via Goal, Gallas played down on Ronaldo’s dream of retiring from football as a World Cup winner. He stressed that though Portugal, which just won the UEFA Nations League, are a strong side, they are not good enough to lift the World Cup next summer.

“Cristiano Ronaldo will be at the World Cup next summer, and either way, it’ll be emotional”, Gallas said.

“He may not be able to start games anymore, but he can still come off the bench. Portugal looks strong, but it’ll be incredibly hard for Ronaldo to fulfil his dream. It will probably end in tears.”

Note that Cristiano Ronaldo scored eight goals and provided an assist in 9 games as he helped Portugal to win the 2024-2025 Nations League. He currently has a two-year contract with Al Nassr.