Portugal have officially been eliminated from the World Cup. With that, Cristiano Ronaldo will end his career without winning the global showpiece. This is because he announced that this would be his last World Cup.
Deespite football being a team sport, Ronaldo has decided to take the spotlight. He doesn't take any blame but just wants to hog the spotlight.
The Al-Nassr striker's inclusion in the team has been up for debate for some time now. He failed to score at Euro 2024 but kept his place in the team this summer. Former France striker, Thierry Henry, was among those to question just how useful it was to have Ronaldo in the Portugal starting XI.
The 41-year-old scored two goals against Uzbekistan and a penalty vs. Croatia in his five World Cup outings but he struggled to have any impact against Spain. In light of the 1-0 defeat, the Portuguese media have now dropped a very clear verdict on Ronaldo, suggesting it's time he stepped away from the national team.
Portugal's A Bola strongly stated: "We do not want to 'kill' Ronaldo. But enough is enough. The captain's era has already lasted longer than necessary, and it must end now."
Portuguese outlet Record added: "Ronaldo finished his last stage with another regret, recording 11 World Cup goals in total (3 in this tournament).
"Unfortunately, this kind of scene was not new to Ronaldo and the Portuguese people. He was eliminated in the round of 16 by Morocco in the 2022 Qatar tournament and cried in the tunnel heading to the locker room. Ronaldo's end on the world's biggest stage became one of sadness."
A Bola were also baffled that Ronaldo wasn't subbed off sooner for Gonçalo Ramos, although it laid the blame at the feet of manager, Roberto Martinez (who has since quit).
Their journalists wrote, "There is only one person responsible. Martinez," before adding: "The obsession with never touching the established status of Ronaldo and [Bruno] Fernandes ultimately left Portugal in tears.
"Not putting Ramos in was the final scene of the horror movie MartĂnez showed. It was like choosing a diplomatic coach who would smile and wave while the house was burning rather than causing a stir. Ramos was a player who produced an attacking point every 37 minutes on average at the World Cup."
Writers from A Bola then urged change, saying, "Now it is time for Ronaldo to step back. We already know. His pride will not allow him to become the backup for a player who is currently showing far better form. The pathological obsession that Ronaldo must play 90 minutes, 90 minutes, and another 90 minutes has left the course of this World Cup forever uncertain had it not existed."
Adding to the criticism, the Spanish media have also commented on Ronaldo's final World Cup outing, as they watched their countrymen knock Portugal out of the tournament. As quoted by the Mirror, ABC wrote:
"Lacking speed, dribbling and bite. At times, he didn't even seem to know what to do with the ball. "His lacklustre performance wasn't enough to send him to the bench, which partly explains the meagre attacking output of a Portugal side that relied on him as its main attacking threat."
La Razon called "participation in the game was limited" and highlighted his lack of movement: "Over the years, his range of action on the field has considerably reduced, and he no longer possesses the explosiveness that characterised much of his career.
"He was the player who covered the fewest kilometres and never came close to truly troubling Unai Simon. He left without the leading role he had envisioned for such a momentous night, although with the feeling of having given everything he had."
Two things can be true of Cristiano Ronaldo. He will end his career without winning a World Cup and yet somehow, he is the perfect poster boy for an ever more surreal Fifa brand.
Portugal will remember this as their summer of squandered opportunity, Ronaldoâs obstructive presence the triumph of the celebrity cult over the finer mechanics of the game.
At 41, he should never have played as many minutes at this World Cup as he did; not least because he was supposed to be banned for two matches, before FIFA inexplicably intervened to cut short a three-match suspension.
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None of the attributes that once made Ronaldo soar above the rest â with one exception â are present any longer. Spain left him in space that once would have been criminal. In the air, Aymeric Laporte and Pau Cubarsi made light work of him. At the break, he had had 12 touches, the fewest of anyone on the pitch.
That much was obvious to Bruno Fernandes, who became reluctant to cross to him at all, though not to his coach, Roberto Martinez. Such wilful blindness ultimately cost him his job â he resigned hours after the final whistle.
Martinez has spent the last few years travelling around the world frittering away the gilded epochs of golden generations. First, the great Belgium of Kevin De Bruyne, Vincent Kompany, Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois.
With Portugal he was entrusted the worldâs best midfield of Bruno, Vitinha, Joao Neves. Elsewhere Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva, Joao Cancelo. In Nuno Mendes, the worldâs best left-back.
Had the Round of 16 gone to penalties, Vitinha, one of their better spot-kick takers, was already off, leaving his teammate 15 years his senior to plod around for the full 90.
Martinez, himself born in Balaguer, Spain, has made a great show of singing the Portuguese national anthem. An act of greater patriotism would have been to give his adopted nation the best possible chance of winning the World Cup â not indulging what he must have known was an oversized ego hindering his teamâs chances.
It is clear that he did know, seeing as Portugal were never willing to fully commit to the bit. They didn't operate around Ronaldo, turning him into a Haaland-type focal point through which everything else must flow. They would not leave him in the box and instead had their record goalscorer dithering 30 yards from goal.
For the last month, Portugal have effectively been reduced to playing with 10 men, barring the moments Ronaldo found a more comfortable stride against Uzbekistan, and with the penalty against Croatia.
Martinez is not alone in this. In the deranged church of CR7, the manager is fighting an unwinnable war. Erik ten Hag will testify. At this World Cup, Carlo Ancelotti bowed to the same external pressure, opting for Neymar at the expense of Joao Pedro and Richarlison; needlessly handing him their final kick.
This is, at least, not a vintage Brazil side. The tragedy of the Ronaldo sect is that Portugal had their best opportunity to do something special since the days of Luis Figo and Rui Costa. All of it was thrown away in the name of pandering to an inflated sense of self-worth.
Ronaldo might have bowed out after Russia 2018. He certainly could have gone once Lionel Messi had beaten him to the punch in Qatar. That is how long the decline dates back â he did not manage a successful dribble in five matches at that tournament, nor in the five this summer. A player who once possessed his calibre must have felt deep down that the game was up and could not bring himself to concede it.
The Portuguese teamâs narrow victory over Croatiaâin which "Bicho" scored a penalty kick in the 68th minuteâwasnât enough to convince the legendary former Swedish striker, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
True to his provocative and unfiltered style, "Ibra" dissected the current performance of the Al-Nassr forward and questioned the Portuguese coaching staffâs insistence on keeping him as a fixture in the starting lineup.
In remarks reported by the renowned international outlet Goal.com and widely reprinted by The Times of India, Ibrahimovic didn't hesitate to assert that the team coached by Roberto MartĂnez is making a serious mistake. For the Swede, the collective obsession with keeping the 41-year-old forward on the field undermines the countryâs aspirations in this World Cup.
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Portuguese fans could have seen this coming. You canât expect to win anything in 2026 with a 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo leading the attack,â the former AC Milan and Manchester United player stated coldly, sparking a tense global debate.âPortuguese fans could have seen this coming. You canât expect to win anything in 2026 with a 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo leading the attack,â the former AC Milan and Manchester United player stated coldly, sparking a tense global debate.
Ibrahimovic was even more scathing in describing the Portuguese captainâs leadership as a smokescreen that hides a troubling lack of mobility on the field. According to a report in the Indian Express, âIbraâ believes that the starâs name carries far more weight today than his actual ability to make a technical difference.
âThis isnât âlegendary leadership.â Itâs his ego thatâs holding the team hostage. Ronaldo has lost his touch and his mobility; now he just spends his time inside the box,â he said scathingly. The Scandinavian legend argued that, at this stage of his career, the player is sustained solely by the momentum of his iconic career.
The core of Ibrahimovicâs complaints also lies in how substitutions are managed on the Portuguese bench. The Swede placed special emphasis on the fact that younger, more dynamic players, such as Gonçalo Ramos, end up being sidelined despite having proven they are ready to shoulder the heavy offensive burden.
In fact, it was Ramos who sealed the dramatic victory over the Croatians after coming on as a substitute in the final minutes, which fueled the comparisons. According to reports from international outlets such as NDTV Sports, the press is questioning whether itâs fair to sideline players at the peak of their physical condition in order to meet the demands of the legendary No. 7.
Concluding his scathing analysis, the Swedish soccer legend closed his remarks with a statement that will resonate strongly within the Portuguese camp as they prepare to face Spain in this decisive match. In his view, continuing to start the all-time leading scorer in international soccer history is a purely emotional decision that is out of touch with current tactical realities.
He has scored at a record six World Cups. But the closest he got to winning it was when Portugal reached the semi-finals in his first tournament in 2006.
He had already announced this would be his final World Cup - but said afterwards "I will meet the family and take decisions with a calm head" when asked if he would keep playing for his country.
Whether Portugal would have had a better chance of winning this World Cup without the pressure to start Al-Nassr's Ronaldo in each game will remain open to debate.
However, there was no question for BBC pundit, Chris Sutton, who was in Texas for BBC Radio 5 Live. "He's waddling around the field like a grandad, that's why Portugal are out," the former England striker said.
"Cristiano Ronaldo does nothing; he did nothing. What is Roberto Martinez doing? How can you pander to a player so much? Portugal are out because of Roberto Martinez."
Boss Martinez announced he was leaving the job after the final whistle and praised "football icon" Ronaldo.
"We need to thank him for what he tried to do at this World Cup," Martinez said. "His dream was to win this World Cup, he did this with an amazing example. He is a prime example of football and the human being that is behind that athlete."
A major recurring theme at the past few major tournaments has been about whether Ronaldo should start. He has scored 146 goals for his country, a record in men's international football - but recently cynics have suggested he does not offer much else.
With fame and status that transcends the game, Martinez seemingly dared not drop him. However, a team filled with some of the best defenders and midfielders in the world may have hoped to do better than make the last 16.
Four of the squad helped Paris St-Germain win the past two Champions League titles - left-back, Nuno Mendes; midfielders, Vitinha and Joao Neves and striker, Goncalo Ramos, who will join AC Milan this summer.
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes was the Premier League's player of the year.
"How did Goncalo Ramos not get on the pitch?" asked Sutton. "It's an absolute embarrassment from the manager, just pandering to his star player. He's the most decorated player that Portugal have ever had but you've got to be stronger than that."
Martinez said: "When you need a goal you cannot take Cristiano off, at least in 90 minutes, he is physically capable - his presence, open space, dead-ball situations, we need his experience."
Former Swansea, Wigan and Everton boss Martinez managed Belgium from 2016 to 2022 and Portugal since 2023. The Spaniard took Belgium to the World Cup semi-finals in 2018, where they lost to France, but then went out in the group stages of 2022.
He did win the Nations League with Portugal last year but leaves after this World Cup exit. "I came to Portugal with the objective of winning the World Cup and because I haven't won it wouldn't make sense to continue," he said. "My contract ends today."
Sutton continued: "His job was to try and win the World Cup and put the best team out for Portugal. Has he done that? Absolutely not. It's scandalous the way he has managed this team. He made a mess of Belgium when they had an opportunity of really doing great things with that golden generation; they ended up Belgian buffoons. Now Portugal, it was pathetic to see a manager act in that manner."
I always believed that Ronaldo was way past his expiration date (no offence to any Ronaldo fans reading this). He should've stepped aside a long time ago. It's quite clear that he's become a burden to the national side.
Martinez should return to club management. He shouldn't be given another chance to "ruin" yet another golden generation.