Cristiano Ronaldo choked up with emotion as tears ran down his cheeks after his Portugal team were beaten 1-0 by Morocco in the quarterfinals on Saturday. Ronaldo momentarily covered his face with his hand, but couldn't hide his disappointment.
It was likely the last World Cup match for the 37-year-old star forward and probably his last chance to win football's biggest prize.
Ronaldo, who was dropped from the starting lineup for the second straight match, came on as a substitute in the second half with his team already trailing.
It was a sad ending for Ronaldo on the day he made his 196th international appearance, tied for the most in the men's game with Kuwait forward Badr Al-Mutawa.
He now leaves the grandest stage of them all as the only player to have scored in five World Cups but remains with eight goals at the tournament, one shy of Eusébio's record with Portugal.
FIFA shared a video on Twitter paying tribute to the maestro, highlighting some of his best World Cup moments.
“A myth. A legend. A machine. Thank you, Cristiano,” FIFA wrote.
Ronaldo has played in every edition of the tournament since 2006.
Amgnonijunior
799
Forget hate guys.. let's Appreciate Ronaldo for what he has done in the past in football history. A player everyone will never forget even when he retire... I'll still tell my unborn kids about Ronaldo and my unborn kids will tell their unborn kids about Ronaldo.. 🐐 ❤️
Amgnonijunior
434
A myth. A Legend. A machine. I respect FIFA for this. Our G.O.A.T will never be forgotten
Ibrahimsmile
322
Almost every Messi fans also feels for him
eggosa91
265
when he retires we won't see a player like him again 😔 we might see but not as ronaldo so forget the hate let gather here for this man 🌝 living legend
eggosa91
201
me hero your hero , my Goat your Goat ___#Ronaldo 😌
D10S_LM10
164
Ronaldo is a great player but he receive so much hate bcoz of fans like Piers Morgan.
Yibkmnops
148
Ronaldo is a great player .... for me Messi is d best player in history but being a Messi fan..i will not mock Ronaldo.... it wud have been great if Portugal and Argentina played the finals... Ronaldo had a brilliant career and because of his goal scoring abilities he is compared to Messi....which is a great thing..... to win 5 Ballon dors in the time of Messi is not anyone can achieve..... however Ronaldo fans r d most irritating ones... I will not mock Ronaldo as u all did when messi cried after losing finals in 2014. Wishing all d best to Ronaldo
DeBani
58
The King Commemorates with All of Football Fans to wish him a Happy Retirement 😢
DeBani
55
Respect for Him For the Huge Challenge he put up against Messi during those 20Years of spotlight
JoyNg
50
Portugal were a nobody in International Football before he came He won two trophies and changed the history of Portugal. That's an overachievement with a country like Portugal. Thanks for everything Cristiano Ronaldo. THE GOAT 🇵🇹🙏🐐👑💎💕
DeBani
46
He will Retire with the Blessings Of The God. Of. Football (G.O.F)
Factos
27
For all the hypocrites
D10S_LM10
18
Show me one post where any of Ronaldo's family members insult Messi. Am waiting...
One was on Messi birthday when she posted a video of his failed bicycle kick attempt.. Don't be so b.l.i.nd in Ronaldo's love to ignore the truth.. I said the reason why Ronaldo get so much hate is people like his fans and family..
D10S_LM10
12
Pls shut up. You're the greatest Ronaldo hater
Yeah i troll him bcoz he and his family hate Messi and insult him openly on social media.. Messi was not the one who wrote factos..
Jebbikrs
11
You know what? Hate him or love him, he has most fans behind him. We'll always support him in hard times no matter what haters like you say.
so messi don't have most fans behind him, is that what you are trying to say ? messi's family don't get them selves involved in football , it is only his father who is also his agent that go for negotiations not writing rubbish in Instagram or whatever social media platforms. secondly why people like messi is because he is calm and he is a natural footballer who plays football and goes back to his wife and children , is it not messi that came to this very world cup with ronaldo ? why is he not critisied ? is simply because the man is only interested in the game likewise his family even the Mexican boxer who insulted him later apologized still the man (messi did not fire back at him or that of his family) when messi shed tears especially when he lost the finals in so many occasions he was mocked by his haters , if Croatia eliminate Argentina , messi will also be mocked so there is nothing special in this situation of your so called goat ronaldo . both of them are legends but one must be above other and what can different them is the number of trophies and personal accolades no Matter how you shape it to suit your idol , the accolades and number of trophies are together with the team and goals contributions there nothing more nothing less. south americans are good in playing football even right from Pele , maradona , zeco , ronaldinho , ronaldo delima , batistuta ,crespo , kaka, dunga , Roberto Carlos, etc and down to messi . scoring goals alone without other football characteristics does not make you a better player than others , the game has changed. modric didn't score up to 10 goals but he won ball on d or and you can ask your selves how it happened ? ronaldo is only good in scoring goals and messi is also good in scoring goals but the different is that messi is a team player , he can adjust to any position in his team and still deliver.