December 11, (THEWILL) – Cristiano Ronaldo has come to terms with the fact that his World Cup dream is permanently over.
The Portuguese superstar hoped that at his fifth and final World Cup, at the age of 37, he would finally win the one significant trophy that had escaped him during his illustrious career. But on Saturday, Portugal suffered a shocking 1-0 loss to Morocco, who became the first Arabic and African country to ever advance to the World Cup semi-finals.
Ronaldo was in tears as he disappeared down the tunnel after the final whistle. And, on Sunday, he announced the end of his World Cup pursuit and made a passing mention of leaving international football entirely.
His post on Instagram read: “Winning a World Cup with Portugal was the biggest ambition of my career. Fortunately, I won many titles on an international level, including with Portugal, and also raised the profile of the country around the world, which was a big dream of mine.
“I worked hard to realize that dream. In 5 World Cups in 16 years, always with great players and supported by millions of Portuguese, I gave everything I had. I gave it all on the field. I never turned away from a battle and never gave up on the dream.
“Unfortunately, the dream ended yesterday. I just want to say, there was a lot said, written and speculated, but my dedication to Portugal never changed for a moment. I was just another working to reach our goal. I never turned my back on my teammates and country.
“There is not much more to say now. Thank you, Portugal. Thank you, Qatar. The dream was beautiful while it lasted…Now, let’s use the time for reflection.”
THEWILL recalls that Ronaldo’s contract with Manchester United was terminated as a result of his controversial Piers Morgan interview, and he entered Qatar as a free agent. Just two months away from turning 38, Ronaldo had the chance of a lifetime to prove that he was still capable of playing for a superclub at the World Cup.
Ronaldo was a huge letdown on the field. In five games, he only managed one goal, a penalty in the opening game against Ghana. In the other two games of the group, he had little effect and was replaced. Then, Ronaldo was benched for the 6-1 triumph over Switzerland in the round of 16 and came in as a late substitute.
He also came off the bench in the loss against Morocco, contributing little when he entered the game in the second half in a last-ditch effort to salvage their World Cup stay.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
