Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench in the 1-0 loss to the Atlas Lions of Morocco in their quarter-finals clash at the ongoing FIFA World Cup tournament in Qatar.
Morocco defeated the former European champions 1-0 to make history as the first African country to reach a World Cup semi-final, a result that left the Portugal captain heartbroken as he left the pitch in tears.
In a post on his Facebook page on Sunday, Ronaldo stated that even though he has achieved many successes with clubs and his national team, winning the World Cup for his country was his biggest career dream.
ALSO READ: World Cup: Morocco Make History After Victory Against Portugal
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.
ALSO READ: Tite Resigns As Brazil Coach Following World Cup Exit
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.
Ronaldo continued,
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.
The concluding part of the statement read,
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.
View this post on Instagram
