There may have been a message in his answer about his current role too, how he has "the physique to play freely" and can still "play where the ball goes".
Earlier this month, Portugal were granted permission to change the location of their qualifier against Azerbaijan from Lisbon to Turin over coronavirus concerns, and several Italian newspapers suggest Ronaldo played a part in the move.
Gazzetta dello Sport and Tuttosport said Portugal's all-time top goalscorer also negotiated with Juventus for his compatriots to use the club's Continassa sports centre and for the team to stay at J|Hotel next to the training base.
Juventus were knocked out in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday as 10-man Porto progressed on away goals following a 4-4 aggregate draw.
The Italians' defeat sparked criticism of 36-year-old Ronaldo in the media, with the front page of Wednesday's Corriere dello Sport saying "Betrayed by Ronaldo".
Ronaldo was criticised for a disappointing performance after the Serie A champions were eliminated by the Portuguese side on away goals, their second consecutive last 16 exit in the competition.
"It's normal that he's disappointed by what happened the other night, like the rest of the team," Pirlo told a news conference.
The jury is still out on rookie coach Andrea Pirlo, with Juve also 10 points behind leaders Inter Milan in the Serie A title race ahead of Sunday's trip to Cagliari.
They do have a game in hand on Inter, which is against Napoli next Wednesday, and nothing other than two victories in those matches will do following Tuesday's disappointing showing against 10-man Porto.
They are also four points behind second-placed AC Milan who have lost three of their last five league matches, including Sunday's 3-0 derby thumping at the hands of Inter.
However, Chiesa pulled Juventus back into the tie following a Rabiot run down the right with a pull back for the Italian to finish off into the corner of the net.
Inter committed more players forward as the match wore on, but the pressure was soaked up by the home defence as the visitors finished the match without scoring for the seventh successive trip to Juventus in all competitions.
Inter, missing top-scorer Romelu Lukaku through suspension, should have equalised 11 minutes after half-time, but Alexis Sanchez's shot was brilliantly cleared off the line by Merih Demiral.
Bologna's Andrea Poli turned into his own net after five minutes before Edin Dzeko added a second to give the hosts a two-goal advantage after 10 minutes.
His game was perhaps best summed up when, into the final 10 minutes with his team comfortably leading, Ronaldo tracked back and dispossessed Messi inside the Juve box before leading the charge on a counter-attack.
Carles Tusquets, president of the managing board in charge before club elections in January, said he would have sold Messi in the summer, economically speaking.
The Portuguese had been hoping to return in time for Wednesday's match and, although there was no official comment on his condition, he was not included in the squad.
The match would have been the first time he faced his personal rival Lionel Messi since Ronaldo left Real Madrid in 2018.