There were no tears this time but it was sad to see the five-time Ballon d’Or winner once again reduced to the role of a passenger.
The Cristiano Ronaldo Show is finally over – and not a moment too soon. The last few episodes have been a seriously tough watch, tarnishing season after season of sustained excellence with one painfully dreadful and needlessly drawn-out final act in Germany.In fairness, Portugal’s Euro 2024 quarter-final elimination at the hands of a dreadfully dull France team was hardly his fault.
Ronaldo stuck away his penalty in the shootout, which the Seleccao lost 5-3, with Theo Hernandez slotting home the decisive spot-kick after Joao Felix’s earlier miss. But the point is that he shouldn’t have been still on the pitch at the stage.
A braver manager than Roberto Martinez would have hauled off a forward who’d been a passenger in the game, touching the ball just 40 times in 120 minutes while extending his tournament tally of shots without a goal to a staggering 23. Instead, the Spaniard inexplicably subbed off Bruno Fernandes and Rafael Leao, who’d been far more involved and dangerous than the untouchable Portugal captain.
