Cristiano Ronaldo’s contribution to the game cannot be questioned. One of the greatest ever to do it on the pitch.
So when the Portugal captain burst into emotion after his final World Cup appearance, it was a symbolic end of an era. This was a major moment – a true icon of the game departing the biggest international tournament for the final time.
This was Ronaldo’s sixth and final World Cup – and he has 11 goals to his name in the competition. He holds the all-time record for the highest number of tournaments scored at.
But this was one tournament too many, at the very least. The events before the tears acted as proof why it is time for Ronaldo and Portugal to find new paths – although the forward has yet to confirm his full international retirement.
Ronaldo could not hide his emotion at the full-time whistle
Against Spain, Portugal were conservative and managed to contain Spain right up until stoppage time. But going forward, something was missing.
That was despite having Premier League Player of the Season Bruno Fernandes alongside back-to-back Champions League winners Joao Neves and Vitinha in midfield.
Across the squad, Ruben Dias and Nuno Mendes provided more tenacity at the back. In Joao Cancelo, Bernardo Silva, Pedro Neto, Rafael Leao, Matheus Nunes, Diogo Dalot and so much more, they had regular starters among Europe’s elite clubs in the team.
It is hard not to look at Ronaldo’s presence as being that ‘something missing’. Nobody expected Ronaldo to be the same five-time-winning Ballon D’Or player this summer, but the numbers back up the idea that Ronaldo was a hinderance, not a help.
A player once branded one of the best attacking players in the world did not attempt a single dribble in his five World Cup matches this summer. Even Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha, also in his 40s, managed one dribble.
Cristiano Ronaldo had a poor World Cup
It summed up a summer where creativity was completely non-existent from Ronaldo. He had 17 shots at the tournament before he created one single chance for a team-mate – and that came after 75 minutes in the last 16 exit to Spain, as he set up a harmless shot for Vitinha that was blocked.
With an Expected Assists (xA) tally of just 0.01 across five games, is a sign that the elite game simply moved on from Ronaldo.
The one thing to note about Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane is while they are pure goalscorers, and some of them may be taking part in their last World Cup, they create for team-mates too.
Ronaldo is a completely different player, but the above quartet are still in the World Cup with their respective teams. Portugal are at home.
There were some glimpses of the past. “I’m back,” shouted Ronaldo down the lens after scoring twice in the 5-0 win over Uzbekistan. But that display ended up being an anomaly in the summer.
Ronaldo scored twice against Uzbekistan – but it was only a glimpse of his talent
Ronaldo was just benefitting from scoring against a leaky team in their first ever World Cup. Only Iraq and Tunisia conceded more goals than Uzbekistan out of the 48 group stage teams.
His penalty against Croatia finally gave him a World Cup knockout goal, but with the game in the balance in extra-time and penalties looming, Roberto Martinez still took him off. That would have been unthinkable in his prime.
Portugal have an opportunity now to move on. Goncalo Ramos has a fresh start ahead of him, after he became AC Milan’s all-time record signing during the World Cup. He faces a fresh start at international level too, as Ronaldo’s heir to the Portugal No 9 throne.
Goncalo Ramos looks primed to take over as Portugal’s main No 9 option
And no doubt Ronaldo’s shadow will still live on in the national team. Come Euro 2028, the narrative will be around how Portugal navigate their tournament waters without Ronaldo for the first time.
Ramos, or whoever takes on the Ronaldo mantle, will face questions about the icon for years. After all, Ronaldo is their Euro 2016 trophy-winning captain.
Ronaldo’s performance at the World Cup will not define his career – but it will follow him around. The fact he never got past the quarter-final stage of a competition Messi won will be the stick that many will beat him with in the biggest modern era debate there is.
He is not the only generational player in the modern era to not guide his country to World Cup glory. But he will likely go down as the best player to have never won the main international prize.
