Cristiano Ronaldo, running through the tunnel in tears, no matter how bad the football world sees him, will forever be remembered by Portuguese fans ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.
Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, has arrived on a mission to prove he can still make a difference. However, he finished the tournament as a substitute and made no impact as a substitute in his side’s 1–0 quarter-final defeat against Morocco.
It was another story of hope turned into disappointment, controversy and failure on the biggest stage for Ronaldo, who was playing in his fifth World Cup and hoping it would open up new opportunities after leaving Manchester United. Portugal is used to having Ronaldo in the spotlight.
He is one of the greatest strikers of all time, a figure so tall that he has raised the bar and standards of the sport in his home country.
Ironically, in a Portuguese team full of outstanding players, Ronaldo fell victim to the abundance of options available to manager Fernando Santos.
Portugal’s top scorer, with 118 goals in 195 games, Ronaldo was substituted on Tuesday in a 6-1 victory over Switzerland, while 21-year-old Goncalo Ramos scored a hat-trick in his fourth international cap.
He was on the bench against Morocco and left the tournament facing another international disaster for his country.
The manager and his teammates deny that Ronaldo’s row with Manchester United just before the World Cup was awkward in the dressing room, but it’s hard to believe his explosive TV interview didn’t affect the team.
The Santos manager said after the defeat to Morocco that he had no regrets about keeping Ronaldo on the bench and explained on numerous occasions that his decisions were tactical, raising questions about whether Ronaldo’s brilliant career marred its end.
Before the World Cup, Ronaldo refused to say that the tournament in Qatar would be his last, and was already looking forward to the European Championship in 2024.
The 37-year-old is unlikely to retire right now, but it remains to be seen how his future is as Spanish and English media reports he will move to Al Nasr in Saudi Arabia as part of a £50m deal. . lb. ($211.65 million) per year.
Santos also denied that he had resigned, saying he would talk to the president of the Portuguese Football Federation about his future.
With or without Ronaldo, Portugal’s future at least looks bright as they have a strong generation of talent with a good mix of youth like Ramos and João Felix and outstanding players in their prime like Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva.