Cristiano Ronaldo and a bittersweet closing in the World Cup

Portugal has lost one of its best soldiers in the World Cup. Cristiano Ronaldo left the Al Thumama stadium moved to tears and covering his face in the tunnel to the dressing rooms.

In the quarterfinals and with the 1-0 defeat against Morocco, the number 7 striker will never set foot on a World Cup stage again. The outcome of a record-breaking career ended in a context framed by the divorce with his most recent club Manchester United, the lack of a secure place in all the starting line-ups with Portugal, the differences with coach Fernando Costa Santos and the noise of his signing with an Arab club.

Ronaldo has not yet announced that he wants to hang up his boots at club level. He managed to free himself from United by breaking the relationship frankly since the interview in which he said that he did not respect manager Erik ten Hag and felt betrayed by the club. The English team was left out of the Champions League in 2023, the competition that Ronaldo wants to play for the last time.

In the total balance, CR7 leaves 2022 with opaque statistics. He scored a goal with Manchester United in the 2021-22 season and a score with the National Team, which made him the only player in World Cup history to score in five different dates consecutively since his debut at the year 2006 in Germany. However, none of these goals were in the knockout stage.

He also holds the record for the youngest, having scored for his team at the 2006 World Cup, when he was 21 years and 132 days old. In addition, just by taking to the pitch against Ghana in Qatar, Ronaldo joined a list made up of Lionel Messi, Lothar Matthäus, Antonio Carbajal and Rafael Márquez as the only players to play in five different World Cups.

The nearly 38-year-old (February 5) spread the word about a deal with Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia last summer, who reportedly offered him a two-year deal worth around $355 million. of euros. And during the World Cup, the media noise spoke of a proposal with Al-Nassr, which occupies the second position in the Saudi championship, with nine titles, only behind Al-Hilal with 18. With them, it is supposed to win around 200 million euros per year, something unprecedented in the history of football.

“No, it’s not true,” he said of some offer from an Arab club in Qatar’s mixed zone, with his strong ego and desire to extend his record of 140 goals at a club competing in the Champions League.

The Saudi Arabian Pro League continues to thrive but was recently ranked the 20th best league in the world, behind the English championship and the Scottish Premiership. Ronaldo has played in the top three leagues in the world for the last 20 years, the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A. Today it’s just strange to see him drop so low.

deportes@eleconomista.mx