Portugal captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, has said the ongoing European Championship in Germany would be his last.
Ronaldo led Portugal to the quarter-finals after seeing off Slovenia 3-0 on penalties following a 0-0 draw in regulation time.
The Al Nassr star saw his penalty kicked saved by Jan Oblak in the early part of extra-time and bursted in tears.
He, however, made amends as he stepped up to convert the first spot kick in the shootout as Diogo Costa made his saves.
“It’s definitely the last Euros, of course. But I’m not moved by that, I’m moved by everything that football involves, by the enthusiasm I have for the game, the enthusiasm I see from the fans, my family here, the passion of the people, the affection they have for me, my teammates themselves,” Ronaldo said.
“It’s not because I’m leaving football, because Cristiano needs to do more or what he needs to win more? It’s not going to be about one more point or one less point, the most important thing about this journey I’ve been on is the enthusiasm I still have to be here. 20 years with the national team and playing, bringing joy to people, your family, your children, that’s what motivates me the most.”
The 2016 Euro champions will take on France in the quarter-finals.
This is a repeat of the 2016 final which Portugal won 1-0 thanks to Eder’s extra-time goal.
Speaking ahead of the last four clash Ronaldo added:”We now have a difficult game against France, who are the favourites to win the competition along with Germany and Spain, but we’re going to war, this is football, the team is doing well, this was a boost of energy that the team had today and we’re going to fight until the end.
“I’ll always give my best for this shirt, whether I miss it or not. And I’ll do this my whole life, I’ve been doing this for 20 years, as you saw I missed the penalty but I wanted to be the first to score, but you have to take responsibility when the team has to.
“You can’t be afraid, I’ve never been afraid to face things head on, sometimes I get it right, sometimes I don’t, but giving up is something you’ll never hear from me.”
1 Comment
You should retire and let the young and fit legs have a space in the Portuguese team. You wasted so many chances- free kicks and Penalty in particular, that you arrogantly want no other one but you to take- due to old age and unfitness for top rate football.
It appears every player and the coach are scared to challenge Ronaldo and particularly the coach who should have substituted him but instead replaced Leao ( the kept winger) who was far more Effective and efficient and Portugal became very weak after that ill-advised substitution. Ronaldo was the weakest link in that team.