Cristiano Ronaldo said successful a cryptic societal media station that his imagination of winning the World Cup with Portugal has ended, portion stopping abbreviated of announcing his status from planetary duty.
The 37-year-old Ronaldo near the tract successful tears aft Portugal mislaid 1-0 to Morocco successful the quarter-finals connected Sunday.
In his archetypal comments aft the elimination, Ronaldo said that it was "time to instrumentality stock" without saying explicitly if helium wants to transportation connected being disposable for Portugal aft 19 years successful the nationalist team.
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"There's nary constituent successful reacting rashly," Ronaldo wrote connected Instagram.
"I conscionable privation everybody to cognize that a batch has been said, a batch has been written, a batch has been speculated about, but my dedication to Portugal has ne'er wavered for an instant.
"I've ever been conscionable 1 much (Portuguese) warring for everyone's goal. I would ne'er crook my backmost connected my teammates oregon my country."
Ronaldo, who is the all-time starring scorer successful men's planetary shot with 118 goals, said putting Portugal "on the highest level successful the world" was his biggest dream.
"In my 5 appearances astatine World Cups implicit 16 years, ever playing alongside large players and supported by millions of Portuguese, I person fixed my all," helium wrote.
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"I near everything I had connected the pitch. I'll ne'er shrink from a conflict and I person ne'er fixed up connected that dream.
"Unfortunately, that imagination ended yesterday."
Ronaldo said helium would present "let everyone gully their ain conclusions".
"For now. There's not overmuch other to say. Thankyou, Portugal. Thankyou, Qatar. The imagination was beauteous arsenic agelong arsenic it lasted."
The adjacent large tourney is the European Championship successful 2024. The adjacent World Cup volition beryllium held successful the United States, Canada and Mexico successful 2026, by which clip Ronaldo volition beryllium 41 years old.
Ronaldo is without a nine aft leaving Manchester United during the World Cup successful the aftermath of an explosive interrogation earlier the tourney erstwhile helium criticised the manager, committee and his teammates astatine the English club.
His lone extremity astatine the World Cup was a punishment against Ghana successful Portugal's opening radical game. He became the archetypal antheral subordinate to people astatine 5 World Cups.
Ronaldo started connected the seat for Portugal's games successful the past 16 — a 6-1 triumph implicit Switzerland — and the quarter-finals.
Before the crippled against Morocco, Portugal manager Fernando Santos denied reports Ronaldo threatened to permission the World Cup aft being told helium wasn't going to beryllium successful the starting line-up against Switzerland.
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