Cristiano Ronaldo may play for his country in this World Cup but I have never seen another player as old as him. The speed that Cristiano Ronaldo has and the style of play and scoring goals are completely different from other players. The way he is still playing football is like a young man but he can play like this for a long time but due to the age barrier he may retire after the next World Cup.
After a coming season, next summer will be World Cup 2026 that is a target of Cristiano Ronaldo as in his career he has never played any World Cup final match, not yet gotten any chance of winning this trophy. As one of biggest super star players in last 30 years, he truly wants to win this most wanted trophy in football players in order to perfectionize his player career.
That is the most obvious thing about him, even at his age he is still decent. The trouble however is that, even if a 40 year old Ronaldo could be better than some 25 year, hell even most 25 year olds, the reality is that he is not as good as he used to be. This is the issue, he is not getting comparison to other players, he is getting comparison to his old self and because he was such a magnificent player, he is not as good as he used to be. That prevents people seeing him be that great, and that is why he is getting judged.
Many young players around 25-year old even don't have good physical strength and high ambition like Cristiano Ronaldo. A player around 40-year old is playing more remaining physical strength, if not last, and mostly relying on his experience and skills gathered through his long career in order to have good positioning and take advantage of any chance for scoring goals and making difference for his team.
Cristiano Ronaldo is weaker physically with years but it's human trend and naturally no player can win against ageing forever. He is enjoying very last seasons in his career at as highest level and scoring as most goals as possible.