Cristiano Ronaldo has finally broken his silence after Portugal's heartbreaking loss to Morocco and eventual World Cup exit.
The Portuguese side had high hopes of advancing in the competition, but in a shocking turn of events, Morocco pulled off the 1-0 upset. The Atlas Lions used their rock-solid defense to hold off any threat from the European giants, and it certainly didn't help that Portugal manager Fernando Santos opted to use Ronaldo as a substitute–coming in the second half when it's too late and he had not enough chance to make something happen.
Ronaldo, who was in tears as he left the pitch following the defeat, shared his pain in a post on Instagram. He admitted that winning the World Cup has always been his ultimate dream, but with the painful loss, that dream ended. While he didn't say if he's going to retire from international duties, the general belief is he has played his last World Cup.
“To win a World Cup for Portugal was the biggest and most ambitious dream of my career,” Ronaldo shared. “Fortunately, I won a lot of titles of international dimension, including Portugal, but to put the name of our country in the highest level in the world was my biggest dream.
“I fought for it. I fought a lot for that dream. In the 5 times I was present in World Cups throughout 16 years, always next to great players and supported by millions of Portuguese, I gave it my all. I left everything on the field. I never faced away from the fight and I never gave up on that dream.”
The 37-year-old also opted not to blame anyone for what happened or question the decision to bench him. At the end of the day, what matters for him is he gave it his all.
“Unfortunately, yesterday that dream ended. There’s no point in reacting hot-headed. I just want everyone to know that a lot has been said, a lot was written, a lot was speculated, but my dedication to Portugal didn’t change even for a second. I was always just one [person] fighting for everyone’s goal and I would never turn my back against my mates and my country,” CR7 furthered.
To recall, Cristiano Ronaldo's girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez lashed out at Fernando Santos for his “wrong” decision to start the striker off the bench. While Ronaldo clearly has regrets not being on the field throughout his final World Cup game, he chose to take the high road this time.
It remains to be seen what will happen next to Ronaldo. He'll probably take some time to rest and think about his international future. After that, everyone knows he has a decision to make about his next club after his ugly Manchester United exit.
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