This will remain one of the most memorable images of this Euro 2024. Devastated after missing his penalty against Jan Oblak in the middle of extra time in a Portugal-Slovenia match that was nail-biting, and which the Seleção ultimately won on penalties (0-0 + 3-0 on penalties), Cristiano Ronaldo broke down nervously. In tears on the pitch with fifteen minutes left on the scoreboard, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was overcome with emotion. Comforted by his teammates, the Al-Nassr striker finally pulled himself together, converting the first penalty of the session to lead his team to the quarter-finals and a clash against the French team.
Present in the mixed zone after the match, the former Real Madrid player returned to this flood of emotions. “The initial sadness and the final joy, that’s what football gives, inexplicable moments,” confided the 39-year-old captain to the microphone of the Portuguese channel Sport TV. “I could have given the Seleção an advantage, I couldn’t. During the year, I didn’t miss a single time and, when I needed it most, Oblak saved. It’s a feeling of sadness and joy at the same time, but the most important thing is the qualification, the team deserved it.”
“I’ll talk later”
Still very moved and on the verge of tears in the mixed zone, Cristiano Ronaldo again insisted on his sadness, remaining very vague about his moral state. “Even the strongest people have their days, I was depressed and I was sad because the team needed it… I can’t, I’ll talk about it later, I’ll talk about it later.”
Winner of the European Championship in 2016, the top scorer in the history of national teams (130 goals) then lifted the doubts about his future, estimating that he was playing “without a doubt (his) last Euro”, before looking ahead to the clash against Les Bleus. “We are going to have a difficult match against France and we are going to go to war. I will always do my best with this jersey. I will do this all my life. I have never been afraid to face things head on and giving up is something that you will never hear associated with my name”, he concluded on RTP.
