Why Cristiano Ronaldo wept as Portugal exited the World Cup
Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo was pictured in tears after his team was eliminated from the 2022 Fifa World Cup.
Portugal crashed out of the international sporting showpiece in Qatar after a shock 1-0 loss to Morocco in the quarter-finals.
Portugal’s loss marked the potential end of an emotional Ronaldo’s participation in the World Cup.
The 37-year old, who is considered among the world’s greatest football talents of all time, is expected to quit international football after this tournament.
Ronaldo has been eager to win the World Cup before he hangs his boots. He is a serial winner, having already won the European Cup with his national team.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo has also won five Ballon d’Or awards and four European Golden Shoes, the most by a European player.
He has won 32 trophies in his career, including seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, and the UEFA European Championship.
He is the only male player who’s scored in five World Cup tournaments and his direct rival in the frame of Argentina’s Lionel Messi, remains in the frame to win the World Cup ahead of a semi-final clash with Croatia.
Holders France will meet Morocco in the other semi-final.
Ronaldo, formerly at Manchester United and Real Madrid, is also one of the world’s most marketable and famous athletes and was ranked the world’s highest-paid athlete by Forbes in 2016 and 2017 and the world’s most famous athlete by ESPN from 2016 to 2019.
He is the first footballer and the third sportsman to earn US$1 billion in his career.
He has six children and first became a father to a son, who was born on 17 June 2010 in the United States.
Though he has full custody of the child, Ronaldo has not publicly revealed the identity of the mother per an agreement with her. In January 2015, Ronaldo’s five-year relationship with Russian model Irina Shayk ended.
He then became a father to twins, born on 8 June 2017 in the United States via surrogacy and is currently in a relationship with Argentine-born Spanish model Georgina Rodríguez, who gave birth to a daughter on 12 November 2017. The couple welcomed their second pair of twins in 2022 but the male twin died during childbirth while the female one survived.