Less decisive but unshakeable, Cristiano Ronaldo still enjoys a special status with Portugal

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner, an undisputed starter since the start of the Euro, should be there again against France in the quarter-finals on Friday.

Images of his tears of sadness after missing a penalty during extra time against Slovenia in the round of 16 of Euro 2024 went around the world on Monday, July 1. As if he was carrying the entire weight of Portugal’s success on his shoulders, Cristiano Ronaldo gave in to the pressure, before finally scoring in the penalty shootout and seeing the Seleçao join France in the quarter-finals on Friday, July 5. A pressure that he undoubtedly puts on himself, helped by his status as the best player in the history of his country, which counts when his coach Roberto Martinez has to make choices.

His name chanted by the public at the slightest opportunity he gets, many spectators who enter the field to try to take a selfie with him… No doubt, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner always attracts the crowds, even if his start to the Euro has not been flamboyant (0 goals, one assist). “We may no longer see a Cristiano from another planet, we may see more the man than the footballer”wrote the Portuguese sports daily A Bola after the difficult qualification for the quarter-finals.

The international press, for its part, was more critical, such as the Guardian. “There is always a fascination in watching legends fade, in watching them rage against the diminishing of their powers. […] One day there will be a Portugal match that is not about Ronaldo, but not here, not yet. Everything revolves around Ronaldo, Portuguese football has become the great psychodrama of his aging.”writes journalist Jonathan Wilson.

Could the status of Cristiano Ronaldo, captain and starter in every match, replaced only against Georgia when Portugal had already qualified, be called into question? “In the first three matches we saw a more united Ronaldo with his teammates, but in the last match his ego took over.says Luis Aresta, special correspondent for Radio Renascença on the Euro. His status, like that of Bruno Fernandes, isthat they are not replaced. But we, Portuguese journalists, wonder why Vitinha was replaced in the last match? It is an important question whether Roberto Martinez is capable of making decisions independent of the status of the players.”

More “solidarity”Cristiano Ronaldo was for example against Turkey, with an assist for Bruno Fernandes, when he could have taken the shot himself. Some will see this as proof of altruism, others will say that he only had in mind the possibility of breaking the record for assists in the history of the Euro. In any case, the Portuguese star did not leave it to his teammate, who is very good at this exercise, to take the penalty against Slovenia and he is also Portugal’s designated free-kick taker even if his attempts find the back of the net much less than a few years ago.

“Sometimes he takes too much responsibility like on free kicks, but at the same time he pushes his teammates to exceed their limits, tempers Diogo Nunes de Oliveira, from Sport TV Portugal. He remains the best striker of all time and he can be clinical to decide a game with a shot. Behind him in the hierarchy, Gonçalo Ramos did not have a very good season with PSG and Diogo Jota is coming back from injury. So Ronaldo is a good option, but playing 90 or 120 minutes is maybe too much.”.

Parisian Gonçalo Ramos only played around thirty minutes in this Euro, against Georgia. And like him, Joao Felix was only able to express himself on the pitch during this third match of the group stage, without any stakes for the Portuguese, beaten 2-0. “One wonders whether Portugal’s hordes of talented attackers are willing to play second fiddle to the Ronaldo show. And one wonders whether it makes sense to take a hugely talented team to the World Cup and the Euros and then treat them as a farewell tour. Opportunities to win tournaments come very rarely; sacrificing them for the ego of a fading star, however great, seems indefensible.”tackle him Guardian.

Roberto Martinez, for his part, rather praised his captain, after the match against Slovenia, saluting his state of mind to take charge of the first penalty, while he had missed the penalty a few minutes earlier.Cristiano is an example for us. I thank him for being the way he is, for taking care of the group. […] He paved the way for us to win. We are all very proud of our captain and delighted for what he has done. He has taught us all a lesson, you have to live every day as if it were your last, have very high standards and never give up. Football brings its share of difficult moments and the way he reacted makes him an example.”he said at a press conference.

Supported by his team, who wish him “to offer” the Euro in “gift” in the words of Nuno Mendes, Cristiano Ronaldo remains an idol in Portugal, according to the Portuguese journalists that franceinfo: sport interviewed, and criticism is rare. The sports daily A Bola still allowed himself to write that the Seleçao needed “of a Roberto Martinez who is more of a coach and less of a locker room manager”The Portugal coach may have to manage his star striker’s ego until 2026, because while he has said that this Euro will be his last, the Portuguese press is convinced that Cristiano Ronaldo will make the World Cup in North America his last objective.