FRANKFURT: Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted the European Championship in Germany will be “without doubt” the last of his glittering career.
Ronaldo will be 43 by the time of the next Euros, which will be held in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, and confirmed what many onlookers would have suspected and that he isn’t planning on playing.
“It is, without doubt, my last European Championship,” Ronaldo told Portuguese newspaper O Jogo after the game.
“But I’m not emotional about that. I’m moved by all that football means – by the enthusiasm I have for the game, the enthusiasm for seeing my supporters, my family, the affection people have for me.
“It’s not about leaving the world of football. What else is there for me to do or win? It’s not going to come down to one point more or one point less. Making people happy is what motivates me the most.”
On Wednesday, he was left in tears after seeing a penalty halfway through extra-time saved by Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak and had to be consoled by teammates only to score the first spot kick of the shootout as Portugal went on to win and book a meeting with France on Friday.
“You don’t fail if you don’t try,” Ronaldo continued. “Obviously it’s frustrating when you don’t score, but it’s forgotten now. The final result is the most important thing.
“Sometimes it’s hard to score penalties. I’ve lost on penalties twice this year but today I won. Football has to be fair sometimes and today it was.” — © 2024 The Athletic Media Company, Distributed by the New York Times Licensing Group
