Cristiano Ronaldo's contribution to football is undeniable. He is one of the greatest players of all time.
Therefore, the moment the Portuguese national team captain burst into tears after his last appearance at the World Cup is symbolic, marking the closing of an era. That is the moment a legend of world football says goodbye to the biggest international stage.
This is the sixth World Cup and Ronaldo also confirmed it is the last in his career. He closed the journey with 11 goals, becoming the first player in history to score in six different World Cups.
However, this tournament seems to have crossed Ronaldo's limits. What happened before he burst into tears after the defeat to Spain shows that it is time for both the 41-year-old striker and Portugal to move on to a new chapter, even though he himself has not officially announced his retirement from the national team.
Against Spain, Portugal played disciplinedly and restrained the opponent until the last minutes. But when the match entered the decisive moment, Roberto Martinez's team lacked sharpness to make a difference.
It is even more regrettable when Portugal owns one of the most quality squads in the league. Bruno Fernandes has just had an excellent season in the Premier League, while Joao Neves and Vitinha have consecutively won the Champions League. In defense, Ruben Dias and Nuno Mendes bring certainty, while Joao Cancelo, Bernardo Silva, Pedro Neto, Rafael Leao, Matheus Nunes or Diogo Dalot are all pillars in top clubs.
Therefore, it is difficult not to see Ronaldo's presence as one of the reasons why Portugal lacks breakthroughs. No one expects him to maintain his peak form, but statistics at the 2026 World Cup show that CR7 is no longer the mainstay in attack.
A player once considered the most complete striker in the world has not successfully dribbed in any of the 5 matches at the 2026 World Cup. Even goalkeeper Vozinha of Cabo Verde, who is also over 40 years old, has successfully dribbed once.
That is clear proof of a World Cup where Ronaldo almost did not create an influence in his playing style.
Of course, Ronaldo still left some moments reminiscent of his peak period. After scoring twice against Uzbekistan, he once shouted loudly: "I'm back!". But that performance was ultimately only a rare highlight in the whole tournament.
Uzbekistan is one of the weakest defense teams in the group stage, only Iraq and Tunisia conceded more goals than them. Apart from those 2 goals and the penalty against Croatia, Ronaldo almost did not make any significant marks.
More notably, in the match against Croatia, when extra time was taking place and the penalty shootout was approaching, Roberto Martinez still decided to withdraw Ronaldo from the field. A decision that was almost unimaginable if it happened to him in his prime.
The performance at the 2026 World Cup will not be able to define Ronaldo's entire career. However, the fact that he has never touched the World Cup trophy and has never brought Portugal to the semi-finals will always be what makes him compared to Lionel Messi in the debate about the greatest player of all time.
Of course, Ronaldo will still be remembered as one of the greatest players in football history, and also one of the most outstanding stars who has never won the World Cup.
