Ronaldo believes the fans deserved more

Lisbon: The Portugal captain posted on Instagram, saying: “We wanted more. We deserved more. For us. For each and every one of you. For Portugal. We’re grateful for everything you’ve given us and for everything we’ve achieved so far.”

After Friday’s European Championship quarterfinal encounter, which saw Portugal lose 5-3 on penalties after being held to a goalless draw by France after extra time, Cristiano Ronaldo remained silent.

“On and off the pitch, I’m sure this legacy will be honoured and will continue to be built. Together,” said the striker, who opted not to accompany the delegation on their trip back to Lisbon.

The players that did not go to Portugal were João Palhinha, Matheus Nunes, Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha, Diogo Dalot, Diogo Jota, and Rúben Neves.

Cristiano Ronaldo started all five games at Euro2024, playing all 90 minutes in four of them and coming on in extra time in two of them, but he was unable to score, ending his run of nine straight finals games without a goal.

The Al Nassr player’s only goal came from a penalty kick in the closing stages of his World Cup 2022 debut. Following that, he was blanked in four more World Cup matches in Qatar and in Portugal’s five Euro2024 matches in Germany.

In spite of the player’s bad performance, Portuguese coach Roberto Martínez only brought him on for the 65th minute in Portugal’s 2-0 loss to Georgia in the group stage, after the team had already qualified for the round of 16.