Gary Neville sends message to Cristiano Ronaldo after watching him cry following Portugal’s World Cup exit
Former Manchester United right-back Gary Neville has revealed it was ‘horrible’ watching his former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo break down in tears following Portugal’s World Cup exit.
Portugal crashed out of the World Cup last week following a 1-0 defeat to Morocco in the quarter-final stage of the tournament.
“I do want to mention Cristiano Ronaldo because I saw that image of him crying in the tunnel,” Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast.
“That was a horrible image for me. That’s that moment where he knows his dream of winning the World Cup for his country has gone.
“We’ve all been there at the end of our careers, but he’s one of the greatest, if not the greatest player of all time. It was horrible to see him like that. He’s had a tough couple of months.”
Ronaldo addressed Portugal’s World Cup exit for the first time on Sunday, writing on Instagram: “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 for Portugal, but putting the name of our country on the biggest one in the world was my biggest dream.
“I battled for it. I fought hard for this dream. In the five presences that I scored in World Cups over 16 years, always alongside great players and supported by millions of Portuguese people, I gave it my all.
“I left everything on the pitch. I never gave up the fight or dream. Unfortunately, yesterday the dream ended.
“It is not worth reacting too hot. I just want everyone to know that much has been said, much has been written, much has been speculated, but my dedication to Portugal has never changed for an instant.
“I was always one more person fighting for everyone’s goal and I would never turn my back on my teammates and my country.
“For now, there’s not much more to say. Thank you, Portugal. Thank you, Qatar. The dream was beautiful while it lasted… Now, it’s time to allow history to tell the story and for each one to draw their own conclusions.”