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‘It was my last…’: Cristiano Ronaldo's painful words mark the end of a dream that remained unfinished
Cristiano Ronaldo confirmed he has played his last World Cup after Portugal's exit, but refused to make a rash call on his international future.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup story has ended without the one prize that chased him all the way to the final bend of his international career.
Portugal’s Round of 16 defeat to Spain did not just end another campaign. It closed the World Cup chapter of one of football’s most decorated careers, with Ronaldo confirming after the match that he has played his final game in the tournament. The 41-year-old, however, stopped short of announcing his international retirement, insisting that he would not make an emotional decision in the immediate aftermath of elimination.
Ronaldo was left in tears after Portugal’s 1-0 defeat, a result that sent Spain through and left Portugal facing another painful reckoning. For Ronaldo, it was the end of a World Cup journey that began in 2006 and stretched across six editions, but never delivered the ultimate crown.
“I'm sad to be leaving the World Cup like this,” Ronaldo said after the match.
“I gave it my all. I did my best. It was my last World Cup, yes, but I'll now have time to reflect and be with my family. I won't be making any rash decisions.”
The Portugal captain was clear that while his World Cup career is over, the decision over his national-team future is not one he is ready to take in the heat of disappointment.
“I don't decide anything in the heat of the moment. Now is not important whether I will continue [to play]. Tomorrow I will get up the same way I got up today: with a clear conscience.”
Ronaldo refuses rash call after final World Cup heartbreak
Ronaldo’s words carried both grief and defiance. There was the sadness of another failed World Cup attempt, but also the pride of a player who believes he leaves the competition with nothing left to apologise for.
“I played 23 years in the national team and won three titles. Before Cristiano, Portugal had not won anything. The Euros was the most important. For me, 2016 has the same dimension as a World Cup, honestly.”
Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez also confirmed that his own time with the national team was over after the defeat, saying there was “no point” continuing without winning the World Cup.
Martinez, however, reserved strong words of praise for Ronaldo, calling him “an exemplary captain” and a football icon whose commitment went beyond goals and records.
“A word of thanks, because he was an exemplary captain,” Martinez said.
He added that Ronaldo’s “day-to-day commitment” and the way he “lives and breathes football” should be celebrated, before saying Portugal would remain grateful for the leadership he showed while trying to deliver the World Cup dream.
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For Ronaldo, though, this was the cruellest missing piece. He won the European Championship, lifted the Nations League, broke records few players will ever approach and turned Portugal into a modern international force. But the World Cup stayed just out of reach.
This was not a retirement speech. Not yet. But it was an ending all the same - the end of Ronaldo at the World Cup, and the end of a dream that survived for two decades before finally running out of road.
