European Football Championship - "Any other questions?" Ronaldo's bitter end
It's not easy to play in a team with Cristiano Ronaldo. Portuguese defender Ruben Dias won the Champions League and English Premier League title four times with Manchester City. The 27-year-old is a big number in European football himself, otherwise, his club wouldn't have paid around 70 million Euro transfer fee for him four years ago.
After the EURO 2020 elimination in the quarterfinals against France, Dias was at the exit of Hamburg's Volksparkstadion and was asked not about his performance but about "CR7". This is how it has been with the Portuguese for years. After this bitter 3:5 in the penalty shootout, one of the best and most important players had no interest in it anymore. "Are there any other questions?", meant Dias - and left.
For the EURO record holder and top scorer Ronaldo, this loss was the last EURO game of his career. At the next EURO 2028 in Great Britain and Ireland, he will not be there. He had already announced this before the France game.
First major tournament without a goal
For the ambitious and ego-driven striker, this departure from at least a big stage was a significant disaster. The echo was not: Respect, that someone still plays at this level at 39 years old. But: How far could the Portuguese have come in this tournament without him? What was possible, if they had not sacrificed the performance principle for the famous player but trusted the 16-year-old Goncalo Ramos (Paris Saint-Germain) or the 12-year-old Diogo Jota (Liverpool FC) in the attack instead?
This assessment is reinforced only by the bare numbers. In his eleventh World or European Championship, Ronaldo was the first time without a goal from the game itself. On Friday evening, he only had 40 ball contacts in 120 minutes of play. The duel of the superstars with France's struggling striker Kylian Mbappé ran completely past him.
Lowest note of the game
Portugal's largest sports newspaper "A Bola" gave Ronaldo the lowest note of all players. "The team improved its performance compared to the previous games. For the captain, however, that did not matter", it said in explanation. "He was neither connected to his teammates nor could he assert himself."
The verdict of "The Guardian" was even more devastating. "Portugal vs. France: A galactic battle that is lost in the black hole of a man's ego", titled the British newspaper.
This harsh judgment goes back to the widely spread suspicion that Ronaldo's influence on the Portuguese team is still too great. No one dares to criticize him or bench him. And he himself prioritizes personal records over the success of the entire team.
There are also indications of this: For example, that almost all Portuguese players went to console Joao Felix, the only missed penalty taker - except for the captain. Or that 20 of the 26 players in the Portuguese squad were represented by Ronaldo's management. This strengthens his position.
Farewell from the national team?
Only Portugal's coach Roberto Martinez insisted until the end of the tournament that his retention of Ronaldo was based on purely sporting reasons. "For us as the national team, he is a role model", said the Spaniard. "He wants to win every day. He wants to compete every day."
Ronaldo may continue playing for Portugal until the next World Cup in two years, but it's unclear. Ronaldo himself disappeared comment-free in the team bus after the France game. And Martinez also avoided questions about that. Even the 41-year-old Pepe couldn't secure a farewell from the national team on Friday evening. This is not the right time to talk about that, said Ronaldo's long-time friend and teammate.
However, Portugal's team has a brilliant perspective even without these two veterans. Diogo Costa (FC Porto), Vitinha, Nuno Mendes (both Paris Saint-Germain), or Rafael Leão (AC Milan): None of these starting players is older than 25 years. And top talents are always growing.
"This is a hard moment today. But we will still come up with something," said Ruben Dias. And that rather without than with Ronaldo.
- Despite the elimination in the EURO 2020 quarterfinals, Manchester City's Portuguese defender Rúben Dias remained a prominent figure in European football.
- After the loss against France, Dias was questioned not about his performance but about Cristiano Ronaldo during his visit to Hamburg's Volksparkstadion.
- The absence of Cristiano Ronaldo in the EURO 2028, scheduled to take place in Great Britain and Ireland, was anticipated due to his previous announcement.
- In Ronaldo's absence, there were discussions about the impact his presence could have had on Portugal's performance in the EURO 2020 tournament.
- The absence of goals from the game itself for Ronaldo in EURO 2020 marked a significant departure from his usual performance in major tournaments.
- The Portuguese sports newspaper "A Bola" gave Ronaldo the lowest score of all players following Portugal's loss against France.
- The British newspaper "The Guardian" criticized the image of a "galactic battle lost in a black hole of ego" in the Portuguese team, attributing a substantial portion of the defeat to Ronaldo's influence.
- The decision regarding Ronaldo's future with the Portuguese national team remained unclear after the EURO 2020, with many believing that his position and influence have become too strong to challenge.
