With Portugal’s Euro 2024 exit after a 5-3 defeat at penalties to France, will this call the curtains down on the splendorous international career of Cristiano Ronaldo?
With a career of 21 years, Portugal has never failed to qualify for a World Cup or Euro Cup with Ronaldo in the squad. With the best World Cup campaign back in 2006 when they made it to the semi-finals with Ronaldo netting a vital penalty against England in the last 8 stages.
After impressing Sir Alex Ferguson at the Manchester United camp, he received his first major club signing with the Red Devils of PL. By 2004, when Ronaldo became a full-time player for Portugal, he took them off to the finals until an upset from Greece cost them the Euro. The then Real Madrid star avenged his Euro hunt 12 years later against France in the 2016 Euros.
In such a splendorous career, he has set uncountable records alongside five Ballon d’Or awards. There remains to be a debate on where Ronaldo sits among the all-time greats, with three-time World Cup winner Pele, a supremely talented Diego Maradona, and longtime rival Lionel Messi.
However, in his long career for Portugal, he is the most capped player in international football with 212 caps and 130 goals for his national side. With only arch-rival Lionel Messi behind him with 185 caps and 108 goals, he remains to behold a long legacy.
Though Roberto Martinez has still not made an official announcement about the Al-Hilal forward’s future in international football, with the legendary forward leaving Euro 2024 without a field goal and having missed chances he never had in his career, this is to believe that the Portugal star might not be seen in national colours any further.
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After Ronaldo’s quitting from international football, the question arises of the other arguably best greatest of all time—Argentine great Lionel Messi. Messi has gained immense pleasure by winning the Copa America and the World Cup in the last few years, and the Inter Miami star might be looking to end his decorated international career with a final stint at the Copa America 2024, probably after defending their title.
After a missed penalty against Ecuador in the shootouts, Lionel Messi’s career was talked off to come to an end. Messi might himself call it off, as Scaloni would not look to part with the 37-year-old star until their next World Cup campaign as the defending champions. Let’s see what awaits Lionel Messi and Argentina after Copa 2024. Though both these greats will continue to feature for their clubs, with Ronaldo scoring on 35 occasions for Al-Hilal with a year of contract remaining while Messi is also having a dream stint for Inter Miami.
