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Ronaldo and Pepe roll back the years at Euro 2024

Jun 19, 2024

Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo has been no stranger to breaking records over his long and illustrious career, so it comes as no surprise that he grabbed the headlines again at the ongoing Euro 2024.

The 39-year-old was in the starting eleven for his country’s Group F opener against the Czech Republic – making him the first player to appear in six European Championships.

It only served to cement his position as an icon at the Euros…where he is already the tournament’s all-time top scorer with 14 goals…and the player with the most match appearances (25 before the game against the Czechs)

But this year, Ronaldo was not alone in earning a place in the history books.

His 41-year-old Portugal teammate Pepe also rolled back the years to become the oldest player ever to feature at the Euros.

He takes over from Hungarian goalie and previous record holder Gabor Kiraly, who was 40 years and 86 days old when he played against Belgium in the round of 16 at Euro 2016.

For Portugal and football fans alike, this will likely be the last chance to catch both Ronaldo and Pepe in action on the European Championship stage, possibly even in any major tournament.

Their spirit and desire may be as strong as ever, but with a combined age of 80, both are on their last legs, career-wise.

Neither player has explicitly addressed their international future, but both will be well into their 40’s when the next edition of the Euros comes around, and we can’t realistically expect them to still be performing at the highest level by then.

The only silver lining for CR7 fans at least, is that Ronaldo has not ruled out making an appearance at the 2026 World Cup, when he’ll hit the ripe old age of 41.

Considering that the oldest outfield player to ever feature at the World Cup was 42-year-old Roger Milla…maybe we shouldn’t rule out Ronaldo just yet.