Cristiano Ronaldo has targeted "another five, six or seven years" of playing at the very top level of the game.
Real Madrid star Ronaldo won a third career Ballon d'Or trophy last Monday, picking up the 2014 award by finishing well clear of Lionel Messi and Manuel Neuer in the voting.
Speaking at the gala both Madrid president Florentino Perez and Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes said their player was immediately targeting winning the award for a fourth time, and the soon to turn 30-year-old told FIFA's website that he was looking much further than into the future.
"I know I'll have a place in the history of the game because of what I'm doing and winning, whether at an individual or team level," Ronaldo said. "I know I'll have a nice page devoted to me between some of the all-time greats, and that makes me happy. I'm 29 now but I feel great, like I'm still 25. I think I can play on for another five, six or seven years at a high level. Beyond that, we'll have to see."
Speaking last year, Mendes suggested his client's dedication to remaining in shape could see him keep going until he turned 40, something which even Ronaldo himself thinks was maybe aiming too far.
"As for going on until 40 -- if I want to play until then, I will, though I might be dragging myself around by then," he joked. "But while I'm playing to an acceptable standard, acceptable to me, that is, and at a level my fans and club deserve, then I want to continue. Honestly, though, it's not something I'm thinking about yet."
After both he and Messi had been named in the FIFPro World XI for the eighth consecutive time, Ronaldo said that retaining such consistency year after year was very difficult.
"In my opinion, the hardest thing is maintaining that level," he said. "I'm proud to have been in the World XI for eight consecutive years and always vying to be among the best three, as it's something very few people manage to do.
"I think just Messi and I have done it... which is why it's immensely satisfying. Year after year I keep working hard with my club and national team so that I continue to stand out. This [recognition] is an indication that things are going well and that I'm enjoying an exceptional career."
The low point of the Portugal captain's 2014 was an injury-hit showing as his country were eliminated from last summer's World Cup at the group stages, after he had ended the club season hampered by a tendinosis issue in his left knee. He said he had no regrets over how this issue had played out, while suggesting some people had refused to accept the reality of the situation.
"I've no regrets about what I did, as things happen for a reason," he said. "After winning the Champions League, for which I was injured, I had to sit out training for two weeks ahead of the final because of pains, I headed off to the World Cup.
"I could've told the coach not to consider me. I could've headed off on holidays instead without the worry, and it would've been easier for me. Nobody would have been able to talk about me out there.
"However, I like to face up to things directly. First of all, I don't want to use the fact I was injured as an excuse, but it's true that I wasn't 100 per cent, as many people knew. But, as I said, I'm not making excuses. That I'm here today is down to my sacrifices, dedication and the sweat of my brow. God sees everything, and if I'm here, it's because I was one of the best of the last year."