Cristiano Ronaldo heard the cheers as he walked off the pitch after his final World Cup match for Portugal. The stoic look on his face and his brief wave acknowledging the fans showed this wasn't the desired outcome.
The sixth and final World Cup for the 41-year-old superstar ended with a 1-0 loss to border rival Spain in a Round of 16 game on Monday. Ronaldo was denied a goal in the first half when record-setting goalkeeper Unai Simon made an impressive leaping stop.
Ronaldo, the only player to score in six World Cups in a row and the career leader in international goals with 146, took three shots against Spain.
On the day before the round of 16 game, Ronaldo spoke to reporters for about 25 minutes and said he hoped it wouldn't be his last match and wanted “to enjoy what will be my last World Cup to the fullest.”
The deepest Ronaldo ever made it in the World Cup was a semifinal run in 2006, his debut in the tournament.
Ronaldo’s finale on soccer’s biggest stage came eight years after he recorded a World Cup hat trick at age 33.
That was in a 3-3 draw with Spain in a group stage opener considered one of the tournament's best matches, although both powers didn’t reach the knockout stage.
He scored 11 goals in World Cup play, tied for ninth on the career list.
The man who defied time
Ronaldo spent more than two decades deciding matches, dragging teams through difficult moments and defying time itself to remain among soccer's elite even past his Real Madrid, Manchester United and Juventus prime.
Yet the one prize that always slipped through his grasp remained out of reach on Monday.
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez celebrated his commitment to soccer after the match, describing him as an icon of the sport.
"We will always be grateful for what he tried to do at this World Cup, because the dream was to win the World Cup and he tried with an incredible example of leadership as a captain," Martinez said.
"This is not the moment to look beyond what we're talking about: a soccer icon. There are not many Cristiano Ronaldos."
That first World Cup also produced his deepest run. At 21, Ronaldo was part of the Portugal side that reached the semi-finals before falling to France.
In the quarter-finals, he calmly converted the decisive penalty in a shootout victory over England, a moment that still lives in Portuguese memories and seemed at the time to foreshadow greater triumphs. They failed to arrive.
For much of his international career, Ronaldo appeared to carry the weight of Portugal's ambitions on his shoulders.
But the landscape changed as a new generation of talent emerged, and by this tournament, questions persisted over whether he should still be a guaranteed starter.
Against Spain, the veteran played the full 90 minutes and managed three attempts on goal, but was unable to create a decisive opening.
Opponents paid tribute to one of the game's greats, who against Spain produced in 2018 what was probably his best World Cup display, a hat-trick in a 3-3 group-stage draw that included a brilliantly taken free kick in the 88th minute.
"I'm a great admirer of him, of his values, of what he stands for, of how he approaches the sport, and I think he's a role model for young people," Spain manager Luis de la Fuente said after the game.
"Whenever we have the chance to be together, we acknowledge our mutual admiration and the pride we feel at knowing him."
Messi rivalry
Ronaldo largely avoided questions throughout the tournament about comparisons with Lionel Messi. Still, as his World Cup story closes, the contrast is difficult to ignore. Their rivalry defined an era, but never fully extended to the World Cup stage.
Messi guided Argentina to the 2014 final and then achieved the ultimate glory by winning the title in 2022, while Ronaldo's runs repeatedly ended in frustration.
There was, however, the prospect of a World Cup meeting.
Had Portugal topped their group instead of finishing behind Colombia, and had both teams advanced, Ronaldo and Messi could have met in the quarter-finals.
"It would be top," Ronaldo said of the potential showdown after scoring twice in Portugal's 5-0 thrashing of Uzbekistan in the group stage, his best performance in the tournament in North America.
For a player who conquered nearly every other challenge the sport could offer, that sense of what might have been will accompany Ronaldo's World Cup farewell.
