Cristiano Ronaldo comes with first reaction after Portugal’s elimination: ‘The dream is over’ | 2022 Football World Cup

A reaction came today, almost 24 hours after Portugal’s elimination at the World Cup. Not in front of the camera, but on Instagram. The fact that he was not able to make his ultimate dream come true still reverberates hard.

Winning a World Cup for Portugal was the biggest and most ambitious dream of my career. Fortunately, I have won many international titles, including for Portugal,” he refers to, among other things, the European title in 2016 and winning the Nations League three years later. “But putting the name of our country on the very highest step of the world was my biggest dream.”

“I fought hard for this dream. During my five participations in a World Cup I have always stood next to great players and felt supported by millions of Portuguese. I gave everything and never gave up. But unfortunately that dream came to an end yesterday.”

Extra painful for the star was that he lost his starting place during the World Cup. Also against Morocco he had to make do with a raid. “I just want everyone to know that a lot has been said, a lot has been written, a lot has been speculated, but my commitment to Portugal has never changed. I was always a person who fought for everyone’s cause and I would never turn my back on my teammates or my country.”

Without Cristiano Ronaldo and nine other players, the national football team of Portugal left for Lisbon today. The 2016 European champion star will continue to holiday in Qatar with his family, according to his country’s national football association.

Perhaps Ronaldo will also travel to Saudi Arabia soon, where according to many media reports, the wealthy club Al-Nassr wants him to sign a mega contract. He could earn no less than 500 million euros there in 2.5 years.

A staggering amount, even for someone who has already collected more than a billion euros in football. After Portugal’s victory over Switzerland in the eighth finals of the World Cup (6-1), 37-year-old Ronaldo denied that he had already given his yes to Al-Nassr. “That’s not right,” was his short response.

Ronaldo is currently without a club. Trainer Erik ten Hag and Manchester United no longer need him. Earlier this season he refused to come in for the English club. After an explosive interview from the Portuguese, the measure was full.

“I like working with world-class players. I know they can make a difference and help you achieve your goals. That’s why you want players like that in your dressing room. But what happened, happened. I have to make choices around players who don’t perform and pick the best team.” said Ten Hag.

Ronaldo also ended up on the bench with Portugal at the World Cup. National coach Fernando Santos opted for Gonçalo Ramos in the eighth final against Switzerland, who crowned his election with three hits. Ramos also appeared at the kick-off for the game against Morocco. Ronaldo was allowed to come on after 51 minutes, but could no longer prevent his team from being eliminated. And that visibly hurt him a lot.

After the final whistle, he didn’t know how fast to get away. He pushed a ball boy aside and quickly went to the dressing room. The attacker did not show up after his 196th country match, equaling the number of international matches played by Bader Al-Mutawa from Kuwait. That will be little consolation at this point.

The 37-year-old attacker already wrote history at the World Cup in Qatar with a hit against Ghana. He is the first player to score in five World Cups. Ronaldo deals in records, but his palmares lacks the world title, the absolute prize for many football players.

Win everything except the world championship. The 35-year-old Lionel Messi can talk about it. But Argentina’s great star is still promising, after a victory after penalties over the Dutch national team in the quarterfinals. But the umpteenth and perhaps last major duel between Messi and Ronaldo will not be played in the final of the 22nd World Cup in Qatar next Sunday.

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