Ronaldo is currently on 979 career goals as he chases down a record 1000 goals before he hangs up his boots for good.
His latest appearance for Portugal drew a lot of criticism as he was substituted in the 67th minute following a tired performance in which he pulled off another frustrating performance.
The Al-Nassr forward saw four first-half chances go begging, missed a second-half sitter as the ball came off his shin six yards out and flew over the bar.
At 41, Ronaldo is objectively far from his prime and his desperate search for 1000 goals has been called selfish by many pundits as he puts himself over the team.
Speaking to Lyllo Casino, Bardsley believes Ronaldo should step down as Portugal captain and focus more on Al-Nassr in his search for his last 21 goals.
"With the games coming up, I thought Cristiano Ronaldo might have called time on his international career, to be perfectly honest. I think he should follow in Lionel Messi’s footsteps there.
"I feel like he's getting to that stage now where the team probably needs a younger player as a focal point to step in and take over as the star player.
"I think he'll continue this year, and maybe next year will be his last in Saudi. I'm not sure on the international front whether he can keep performing at the European level, but what he's done is amazing.
"He just needs a few more goals to hit that 1000 goal total and I'm sure he'll do it, I don't think he'll stop before he does. I wish him all the best for that, what he's done in football has been incredible.
"For Portugal, if he gets to that 150-goal mark, I think that'd be it for him. It's some return, by the way.
"I think Messi as well made the right call. He can't do any more, he's won the World Cup. It's just amazing what they've done, and credit to them for still giving it everything they had in the World Cup.
"They're a pleasure to watch. But it gets to the point where you've got to hand the baton over."
Ronaldo's next opportunity to grab number 980 is Norway on September 27th, followed by Denmark on October 1st and Norway again on October 4th.