Following Portugal’s devastating elimination from the Euro 2024, Cristiano Ronaldo has spoken out.
Portugal’s defeat over France on Friday night dashed Ronaldo’s ambitions of winning a trophy at his sixth and final European Championship.
After 120 minutes of intense play in Hamburg, the quarterfinal match ended in a goalless draw. France, the eventual World Cup winners, won the penalty shootout that followed.
Ronaldo did not score in open play at Euro 2024, but he did score in the shootout, like he did in the team’s last-16 triumph over Slovenia.
The 39-year-old, now playing in Saudi Arabia, believes Portugal ‘deserved more’ in Germany as they failed to set up a mouth-watering semi-final clash with neighbours Portugal, who will now face France.
Ronaldo posted on Instagram: ‘We wanted more. We deserved more. For us. For each and every one of you. For Portugal.
‘We are grateful for all that you have given us and all that we have accomplished so far.
‘On and off the field, I’m sure this legacy will be honoured and continue to be built. Together.’
Ronaldo may decide to retire from international football following Euro 2024 but manager Roberto Martinez said it was too soon to discuss his future with the national team.
“Everything is still too raw, we just finished the game,” he remarked. “At this point, there are no individual decisions; we’re losing as a team.”
Martinez said, “We showed we are a team that can suffer, but wants to win for the fans.” This was Portugal’s performance against France.
We lost the Portuguese way of giving all, but we did so with dignity. Our guys will learn a great deal from this encounter.
The character, the opportunities, and the way we generated risk in the latter third. It was an impressive performance that fills us with pride as we look to the future.