Is Cristiano Ronaldo playing at the Olympics? Latest on Portugal captain's availability for 2024 Paris Games

Joe Wright

Is Cristiano Ronaldo playing at the Olympics? Latest on Portugal captain's availability for 2024 Paris Games image

Cristiano Ronaldo first played at the Olympic Games 20 years ago, the same year in which he was part of the Portugal squad that reached the final of Euro 2004 before losing to Greece.

The veteran Al Nassr striker endured a difficult European Championship this year. Despite attempting the most shots (23) of any player at the finals apart from Kylian Mbappe, he failed to score a goal as his side suffered a penalty-shootout defeat to France at the quarterfinal stage.

While the return of the club seasons in Europe are less than a month away, major international football has not yet finished for the month: the Olympic soccer tournaments begin on July 24 and run for two weeks, with the men's gold-medal match taking place in Paris Saint-Germain's Parc des Princes stadium on August 9.

But will Ronaldo and Portugal be involved?

MORE: Will Kylian Mbappe play for France at the Olympics?

Is Cristiano Ronaldo playing at the Olympics?

Ronaldo is not playing at the 2024 Olympic Games. Portugal are not involved in either the men's or women's tournament.

The Selecao's last appearance in the men's draw was in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. The team coached by Rui Jorge finished top of their group above Honduras, Argentina and Algeria, but they were thrashed 4-0 by Germany in the quarterfinals.

Ronaldo was not involved in Rio. His sole appearance at the Games came in Athens 2004 as a 19-year-old. It was a miserable campaign for Jose Romao's side, who finished bottom of their group after losing to Iraq and Costa Rica. Ronaldo scored in their sole victory — a 2-1 win over Morocco.

Ronaldo Portugal
Getty Images

How are Olympic squads selected?

Rules on how Olympic football squads are selected feature a crucial rule on 'overage players' with each qualified nation allowed to name three players aged over 23 in their squad.

That restriction does not apply to women's squads for Olympic competition.

Portugal's Olympic record

Portugal's men have only competed at four summer Games throughout history. Their best result came in Atlanta in 1996, when they finished fourth.

YearHostPortugal Result
1900Paris, FranceDNE
1904St. Louis, United StatesDNE
1908London, United KingdomDNE
1912Stockholm, SwedenDNE
1920Antwerp, BelgiumDNE
1924Paris, FranceDNE
1928Amsterdam, NetherlandsQuarterfinals
1936Berlin, GermanyDNE
1948London, United KingdomDNE
1952Helsinki, FinlandDNE
1956Melbourne, AustraliaDNE
1960Rome, ItalyDNE
1964Tokyo, JapanDNE
1968Mexico City, MexicoDNE
1972Munich, West GermanyDNE
1976Montreal, CanadaDNE
1980Moscow, Soviet UnionDNE
1984Los Angeles, United StatesDNQ
1988Seoul, South KoreaDNQ
1992Barcelona, SpainDNQ
1996Atlanta, United StatesFourth Place
2000Sydney, AustraliaDNQ
2004Athens, GreeceGroup Stage
2008Beijing, ChinaDNQ
2012London, United KingdomDNQ
2016Rio de Janeiro, BrazilQuarterfinals
2020Tokyo, JapanDNQ

*DNE indicates Did Not Enter and DNQ indicates Did Not Qualify

Olympic football champions

Below is the complete list of Olympic medallists in men's soccer tournament.

YearHostGold Silver Bronze 
1900Paris, FranceGreat BritainFranceBelgium
1904St. Louis, United StatesCanadaUnited StatesNone awarded
1908London, United KingdomGreat BritainDenmarkNetherlands
1912Stockholm, SwedenGreat BritainDenmarkNetherlands
1920Antwerp, BelgiumBelgiumSpainNetherlands
1924Paris, FranceUruguaySwitzerlandSweden
1928Amsterdam, NetherlandsUruguayArgentinaItaly
1936Berlin, GermanyItalyAustriaNorway
1948London, United KingdomSwedenYugoslaviaDenmark
1952Helsinki, FinlandHungaryYugoslaviaSweden
1956Melbourne, AustraliaSoviet UnionYugoslaviaBulgaria
1960Rome, ItalySoviet UnionYugoslaviaDenmark
1964Tokyo, JapanHungaryCzechoslovakiaEast Germany
1968Mexico City, MexicoHungaryBulgariaJapan
1972Munich, West GermanyPolandHungarySoviet Union
1976Montreal, CanadaEast GermanyPolandSoviet Union
1980Moscow, Soviet UnionCzechoslovakiaEast GermanySoviet Union
1984Los Angeles, United StatesFranceBrazilYugoslavia
1988Seoul, South KoreaSoviet UnionBrazilWest Germany
1992Barcelona, SpainSpainPolandGhana
1996Atlanta, United StatesNigeriaArgentinaBrazil
2000Sydney, AustraliaCameroonSpainChile
2004Athens, GreeceArgentinaParaguayItaly
2008Beijing, ChinaArgentinaNigeriaBrazil
2012London, United KingdomMexicoBrazilSouth Korea
2016Rio de Janeiro, BrazilBrazilGermanyNigeria
2020Tokyo, JapanBrazilSpainMexico

Joe Wright

Joe Wright Photo

Joe is a Senior Editor at Sporting News. He was previously a sub editor and writer for Goal.com before spending six years as part of the Stats Perform editorial news service, covering major global sports including football, tennis, boxing, NBA, rugby union and athletics. Joe has reported live on some of the biggest games in football, including two UEFA Champions League finals, Euro 2016, the Confederations Cup 2017 and the 2018 World Cup final at the end of a month in Russia.