Cristiano Ronaldo made a record sixth appearance at the European championships but did not make a name for himself. The legendary Portuguese player ended the Euro in Germany without scoring a goal. Many football fans believe that Portugal is subordinate to Ronaldo and that the national team would play much better without him.
Ronaldo and Portugal had to do better
Ronaldo and the entire Portuguese national team did not make a name for themselves in Germany when you consider the quality of this national team. Out of all the participants in UEFA Euro 2024, Portugal played the best in the qualifiers, although we have to be honest and say that the rivals were not too difficult. In the group stage of the Euro, Portugal also did not have too difficult a task, but despite that, the team did not shine and even experienced a defeat against Georgia. At the loss of the knockout stage, Portugal got a suitable rival, but Ronaldo and his friends, with a lot of trouble, only eliminated Slovenia after a penalty.
Ronaldo missed a penalty in the regular part, and between the two overtime periods, he cried like rain. Sesko almost punished the mistake of his great friend Pepe and Portugal ended their competition then. In the next round, the opponent was much more difficult, and the game was not significantly different. In the end, penalties were shot again and this time France did better, although only Joao Felix missed for Portugal.
The scene that took place after the penalty shootout perhaps speaks best of Cristiano Ronaldo’s egocentrism. Most of his players consoled Felix, who was a tragic man, but not Ronaldo, who ended the tournament with two goals from the penalty shootout and no field goals.
Is it time for Ronaldo to say enough and say goodbye to the national team with dignity? It seems that the motivational moment is not disputed at all, but it seems that Ronaldo can no longer play football at the top level. There is a rise in football in Saudi Arabia, but that level is still far from the one that is present in the strongest European clubs.
At this Euro, Ronaldo failed in terms of goalscoring performance, even though he is the best scorer in the history of the Euro, but we saw from him again the things he shows in all major competitions and in the teams he plays for. Ronaldo grabbed every free kick even from some impossible positions.
It is an almost unreal fact that this player took over 60 free kicks against big players and scored only one goal. That happened in the match between Portugal and Spain at the World Cup 2018. In the match against France in the 42nd, a shocking moment happened because instead of Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes took the free kick, although he did not celebrate either.
The two of them were actors in a very interesting situation in the match against Turkey when, despite all expectations, Ronaldo assisted Bruno for a goal. It will turn out that it wasn’t completely accidental, because with that assist, Ronaldo equaled the best assists of all time at the Euros.
While the coach of France Didier Deschamps had the strength to take Kylian Mbappe out of the game, Roberto Martinez was not ready to do it with Ronaldo. It seems that the egomania of the best Portuguese player of all time cost the national team a better result. Everything was subordinated to him, but you have to be realistic and admit that he is no longer a player from his best days.
We saw him crying in Saudi Arabia after his team failed to win the cup, but we repeat once again that his volitional moment is not in dispute, but it is difficult to expect Ronaldo, at almost 40 years old, to deal with the best European players in the right way.
This may not have been the last competition for Ronaldo, but it could almost certainly be the 2026 World Cup, which should be Ronaldo’s last attempt to win another title at a major competition with the national team. So far, he has managed to win the European Championship in 2016, although he was injured in the final, and in 2004 his national team was defeated by Greece. At the world championships, he never managed to reach the final, which means that he still has the competitive motive to do something big with the national team, which has the potential for great things, but he didn’t show it in Germany.
It seems that Martinez has gone too far in protecting the biggest star because his career is on the wane and Roberto should be a coach for a long time. It will be really interesting to see if Ronaldo will feature in another major competition. In this tournament quite often Cristiano was weak both physically and psychologically. When he was unable to make a difference on the field, he was visibly demoralized. If you ask him, he would certainly still play for the national team and try to be the world champion with it, and it is only questionable with which role Ronaldo could try to achieve that.
