Cristiano Ronaldo has spoken out for the first time since Portugal was eliminated from the World Cup on Saturday by Morocco.
As the first African nation to go to a World Cup semi-final, Morocco overcame the previous European champions 1-0. The loss devastated Portugal’s captain, who sobbed as he left the field.
Ronaldo wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday that, despite his many accomplishments with clubs and his national team, his ultimate professional desire was to win the World Cup for his nation.
He said he had fought hard to achieve that dream in all the five World Cups he appeared in and never at any point turned his face to the fight or gave up on the dream, but also admitted that the dream sadly ended yesterday with his country’s defeat to Morocco.
Acknowledging that a lot had been said, written and speculated about him, Ronaldo noted that his dedication to Portugal had not changed even for a moment.
He wrote, “Winning a World Cup for Portugal was the biggest and most ambitious dream of my career. Fortunately I won many titles of international dimension, including Portugal, but putting our country’s name on the highest foot in the World was my biggest dream.
“I fought for it . I fought hard for this dream. In the 5 appearances I scored in World Cups over 16 years, always by the side of great players and supported by millions of Portuguese, I gave my all. Leave it all out on the field. I never turned my face to the fight and I never gave up on that dream. Sadly yesterday the dream ended It’s not worth reacting to heat.
“I just want you all to know that much has been said, much has been written, much has been speculated, but my dedication to Portugal has not changed not for a moment. I was always one fighting for the objective of all and I would never turn my back on my colleagues and my country.
“Not much more to say for now. Thank you Portugal. Thank you Qatar. The dream was nice while it lasted… Now, it’s hoping that the weather will be good advisor (sic) and allow each one to draw their own conclusions.”
