Cristiano Ronaldo
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo was reticent regarding his future in representing his country, commenting on the team’s exit from the World Cup following losing to Morocco.
The 37-year-old striker broke down in tears as he returned to the dressing room following the quarter-final match ended with his team losing 1-0 to the Atlantic Lions.
Ronaldo played as a substitute and did not participate from the first match, following he also came off the bench to participate late in the round of sixteen match once morest Switzerland.
“Winning the World Cup for Portugal was the biggest and most ambitious dream of my career,” he wrote on social media.
Unfortunately, the dream ended yesterday (Saturday).
Ronaldo left Manchester United by mutual consent before the 2022 World Cup, following a controversial television interview in which the five-time Ballon d’Or winner criticized the club and its coach harshly.
Ronald started all three matches for his country in the group stage of the tournament, before coach Fernando Santos seated him on the bench during the match that saw the victory over Switzerland.
Portuguese website Record alleged that Ronaldo threatened to leave the tournament, following he was told he would not start the match once morest Switzerland, but the Portuguese Football Federation and Santos denied this had happened.
Ronaldo added: “I just want everyone to know that a lot has been said, a lot has been written, there has been a lot of speculation, but my devotion to Portugal has not changed for a moment.”
“I was always an extra player fighting for everyone’s goal, and I will never turn my back on my team-mates and my country,” he added.
“At the moment, there is not much to say. Thank you, Portugal. Thank you, Qatar. It was a beautiful dream when it was there. Now, we have to allow time to be a good advisor and let everyone come to their own conclusions.”