To say that Ronaldo was peripheral would be generous. For long periods it felt as though this last-16 World Cup game<\/a> was taking place around him. A giant of the game \u2014 arguably the greatest goalscorer ever \u2014 was reduced to the role of an on-field spectator. Not so much a support act, as an act.<\/p>\n None of that particularly came as a shock based on Ronaldo\u2019s performances at this World Cup. He was kidding nobody when he screamed \u201cI\u2019m back, I\u2019m back!\u201d into a television camera<\/a> in Houston, Texas, two weeks ago.<\/p>\n Or at least he was kidding nobody who didn\u2019t allow their judgement to be clouded by a couple of goals against Uzbekistan and who can remember what Ronaldo in his pomp looked like \u2014 a man capable of producing moments of breathtaking brilliance with astonishing regularity and winning games single-handedly.<\/p>\n Cristiano Ronaldo\u2019s World Cup run ends with Portugal exit<\/p>\n Oliver Kay and Rachael Tinde<\/p>\n As the clock ticked down against Spain, and the game remained goalless and the substitutes\u2019 board was raised, you kept wondering if it would be Ronaldo\u2019s number. Portugal looked blunt, desperate for fresh attacking impetus and a focal point up front to stretch a Spain defence that had been far too comfortable for far too long.<\/p>\n Pedro Neto made way. Vitinha departed. Joao Felix was substituted. Joao Cancelo came off too. But not Ronaldo, the oldest player on the pitch by a distance and a man who, curiously, played more minutes in the group stage than any other member of the Portugal squad.<\/p>\n That Roberto Martinez, Portugal\u2019s coach, chose to leave Ronaldo out there until the bitter end against Spain came as no surprise. Fernando Santos, Martinez\u2019s predecessor, had the courage and conviction to pick a starting XI without Ronaldo at the last World Cup. Martinez, in contrast, indulged him.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t be fooled by the substitution that Martinez made in Toronto, when Ronaldo was withdrawn against Croatia. That was an easy decision to make given that Portugal were getting overrun in midfield and Goncalo Ramos had been introduced in search of the equaliser that arrived courtesy of Ronaldo\u2019s penalty.<\/p>\n Leaving two strikers on the pitch in that scenario would have been a failure in management. It was a matter of when, not if, Croatia scored again. Ruben Neves came on in Ronaldo\u2019s place, Portugal regained a foothold and their forgotten man came to the rescue.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you need a late goal, you can call Goncalo Ramos,\u201d the Portugal match-winner said afterwards.<\/p>\n But Martinez never wanted to dial that number at Ronaldo\u2019s expense.<\/p>\n Some will wonder whether Ronaldo should have put Martinez in this position in the first place \u2014 and it\u2019s a fair question to ask.<\/p>\n \n Should Roberto Martinez have been tougher with Ronaldo? (Catherine Ivill \u2014 AMA\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Ronaldo\u2019s contribution to Portuguese football is impossible to overstate. He is the finest player to represent his country \u2014 146 international goals in 233 matches \u2014 a five-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner and one of the all-time greats. That status won\u2019t change on the back of this World Cup and it would be foolish to suggest it should.<\/p>\n The same goes for his legacy, which some believe has been tainted by one World Cup too many. In years to come, they won\u2019t talk about Ronaldo touching the ball seven times in the second half in Dallas; instead, they will talk about the man who went toe-to-toe with Lionel Messi for the best part of a decade.<\/p>\n But that doesn\u2019t mean there aren\u2019t questions to answer now, not least because it\u2019s hard to escape the feeling that playing in this World Cup strayed into becoming a personal crusade for Ronaldo rather than one that benefitted Portugal.<\/p>\n He ticked a box by going down in the history books as the only player to score in six World Cups and another when he registered his first knockout goal in the tournament. Ronaldo eclipsed Eusebio as Portugal\u2019s greatest World Cup goalscorer. But what did any of that mean for the team?<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284945144-scaled.jpg\")
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