Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed why he cried after missing a penalty during Portugal’s Euro 2024 round-16 match against Slovenia.
The match was poised at 0-0 when Portugal won a penalty in the final minutes and Ronaldo stepped up to take it. As usual, the Al-Nassr forward spread his legs and took a distance away from the ball.
At the blast of the whistle, he ran up and aimed at the right but Jan Oblak had read his moves, dived with great agility, and pointed it away.
Cristiano Ronaldo was left distraught after the penalty miss. He broke down in tears and was consoled by his Portugal teammates.
Ronaldo’s emotions were understood, given the consequence of the miss and the timing of the spot-kick. The match had entered extra time after a barren draw with Portugal desperately needing a goal to break the deadlock.
Also, the Al-Nassr forward was in search of his first goal in the tournament. Despite playing in Portugal’s all three group matches and in the last-16 tie against Slovenia, he didn’t find the back of the net.
Why Cristiano Ronaldo cried after missing spot-kick Vs Slovenia
Since his rise to stardom, the goal drought in the tournament marked another low point in his heroic career. It was believed the underwhelming performance in the tournament and the pressure of Portugal crashing out had warranted the tearful reaction of the footballer.
However, it appears that was not the case. In an interview with his former teammate at Manchester United, Rio Ferdinand, Ronaldo revealed on his YouTube channel that it was not the resultant pressure from missing the penalty that made him cry but because of the passion he has for the game.
“When you have passion for what you’re doing, you can not be worried about your feelings. For example, I cried the day that I missed the penalty, which I believe Oblak made a fantastic save. When I cried, it’s not because I felt if I don’t score that penalty and if Portugal are eliminated, that the world would collapse on me. It’s not because of that, Rio. These people don’t know me”, he said.
Clarifying further, the footballer boasted about the 27 goals he has scored via spot-kick but added he felt bad after missing that one. To him, it was the feeling of not making his mum, kids, partner, and other Portuguese fans proud that led to the tears, not necessarily the consequence of the miss to the team.
He said, “Imagine, the last 27 penalties you score, then you miss one, in that period you feel bad about yourself. The people that come to the stadium – your kids, your mum, your girlfriend, everyone, I felt sad because of that. You think I’m thinking I missed a penalty and Portugal is going to fall on me. They’re going to say we failed because Cristiano missed a penalty? I didn’t even think about that, I swear to God.”
After Ronaldo’s miss, the match ended 0-0 and was dragged to the shootouts. Ronaldo made the list of the penalty-takers and would score his spot-kick as Portugal ran out with a 3-0 victory to progress to the quarterfinals where they lost to France.
“I grow football in Saudi Arabia” – Ronaldo reflects on Saudi move
Also, in the interview, Cristiano Ronaldo boasted of his role in the growth of football in Saudi Arabia, including the challenges he has faced.
The 39-year-old asserted that his influence played a great role in the emerging new football culture in Saudi with emphasis on other big players that have joined the league.
“I grow football in Saudi Arabia. I knew a lot of big footballers would join after I moved to Al-Nassr. They have a good football culture and are developing,” he said.
On the challenges he has faced, Ronaldo explained that no country is perfect, and Saudi Arabia is not an exception. He cited the hot weather conditions as one of the major challenges. He also mentioned religion although he didn’t delve more into the latter.
Ronaldo finished the 2023-24 season as the highest goal-scorer in the Saudi Pro League with 35 goals. He holds the record for the all-time top scorer in a single season after the legendary goal haul and will hope to maintain the elite level performance in the new season.
Meanwhile, it is understood he is on the last lap of his contract with Al-Nassr. Speculations have been swirling around his future but it appears the legendary footballer may stick around to play 2026 World Cup.
