World Cup: Did Ronaldo actually pay the price for stretching his welcome?

Did Cristiano Ronaldo's fans, even the most diehard among them, really expect him to lift the elusive World Cup trophy in his final bow? At best, they hoped for one last flourish from CR7 at 41, while clinging to a faint belief that a side packed with decorated club football stars could script a fairytale ending.

Eventually, nothing of the sort happened as Ronaldo walked away in tears — almost certainly for the last time on the World Cup stage, though one cannot rule out the possibility of him postponing a full-fledged retirement after Portugal's insipid last-16 exit to Spain. It was no surprise that the Spain-Portugal clash was billed as the marquee tie among the eight pre-quarterfinals, but it ultimately fell well short of the thrilling contests this stage has produced over the years.

“It’s been my last World Cup, yes… but now I will have time to think, stay with my family and life continues,” a dejected Ronaldo said after the match. It’s too early to tell whether he has any thoughts about doing a 2016 encore in the Euro in two years’ time, but the bitter truth about his 2026 campaign was that here was a legend trying hard to extend his welcome.

Did the star-studded Portugal team pay the price for playing around Ronaldo with head coach Roberto Martinez playing a fanboy to him? The overdose of horizontal passes which star midfielders like Bruno Fernandes, who has a history of acrimony with the icon, Vittinha and Joao Neves kept on playing meant he was starved of balls upfront in and around the rival penalty area – Ronaldo’s favourite patrolling zone.

The all-time high scorer in international football (146 goals from 233 appearances) hence was nowhere in the Golden Boot race - with two goals against his name after playing five matches in all while his biggest rival Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Halland are locked in a three-way contest for the big prize with seven goals each.

For the legacy that the biggest showman of the game has left over last two decades, there is no gainsaying that the sheen would never wear off even with the World Cup missing on his shelves. Yes, the hunger must have been obvious as he stood watching Messi rise from the abyss of disappointment in 2014 final (a tournament where the Argentine won the Golden Ball) to lift the trophy in 2022 - but then the sport has been replete with examples of legends not finishing on the right side of the greatest show on earth.

 Looking beyond his glittering CV, the sport of football must be thankful for the way it has fed off the rivalry of the Big Two for the last two decades with a long list of beneficiaries. No doubt, FIFA wanted to encash it one more time at the ongoing World Cup and there was an air of anticipation of a Ronaldo vs Messi face-off as early as the quarters if both sides had topped their respective groups. However, professional sport holds no guarantee for a fairytale ending – even if one is a virtuoso like the Portuguese.

There is no doubt that Ronaldo had often polarised the global football fraternity like no other. While his admirers felt that he was the greatest to have walked the planet in the new millennium, the counterpoint of being selfish, arrogant and flashy had been labels that stuck to him forever.

However, as he retreats in his palatial mansion in Quinta da Marinha (an exclusive coastal enclave in Cascais, Portugal), the showman can still look back at his epic journey with a lot of pride. And it was not about the goal-rush, the Ballon d’Or's, UEFA Champions League trophies or the 2016 Euro Championship crowns.

It’s about the impact and legacy of a master entertainer – the sport will surely miss him dearly!