Cristiano Ronaldo on Potential Future in Coaching: 'I'm Not Ruling It Out'

Cristiano Ronaldo is "not ruling out" moving into coaching when he calls time on his playing career.

The Portuguese superstar has enjoyed a successful first season at Juventus following his £99.2 million move from Real Madrid last summer.

Although Ajax surprisingly knocked Juve out of the UEFA Champions League at the quarter-final stage to end Ronaldo's hopes of a fourth successive triumph in the competition, he did make history by winning Serie A with the Old Lady:

After 34 games of the 2018-19 Italian top-flight season, Ronaldo has netted 20 goals and provided eight assists. His performances are still of the highest quality, and it remains a possibility he could add a sixth Ballon d'Or to his trophy cabinet before calling it a day.

However, at 34, Ronaldo is entering the closing stages of his career, and when asked by Spanish magazine ICON whether he has considered going into coaching after hanging up his boots, he said, "I'm not ruling it out" (h/t AS). 

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Ronaldo once illustrated what he might look like as manager rather than player.

After a tearful first-half exit from the UEFA Euro 2016 final because of injury, he emerged again to prowl the technical area with Portugal manager Fernando Santos as they pulled off a shock 1-0 extra-time victory over France:

It is likely to be some time before Ronaldo stops playing given he once said he would like to continue into his 40s. At the least, he will surely continue to 2022, the year that his contract at Juve expires.

Ronaldo has not netted the same volume of goals this season at Juventus as he did so regularly at Real. And if he fails to score five more times in Serie A this term, it will be his least prolific league campaign since he netted 18 in 2008-09, his last season with Manchester United.

Serie A sides are historically more defensive, though, and passing the 20-goal mark is an achievement for any player.

Ronaldo is seemingly happy with how he has settled in, and he explained how he adapted after moving from Real:

"The first thing I do [when I get to a new club] is be myself and nothing more. My work ethic is always the same. If a business owner arrives and starts to crack down on everyone, people will not see him as a leader. They will say, 'This is my boss, but he does not treat me well.'

"You must be humble, learn that you don't know everything. If you're smart, you get little things that make you better as an athlete. In Juve I adapted perfectly. They saw that there's nothing false about me. He is Cristiano, and he is what he is because he takes care of himself. It is one thing to speak and another to do. Why did I win five Ballon d'Ors and five Champions [Leagues]?"