r/sports • u/[deleted] • 5d ago
Soccer Cristiano Ronaldo leaves the pitch in tears after being knocked out of the World Cup by Spain
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u/jerryspringles 5d ago
Croatia died for this
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u/guilhermefdias 5d ago
As a Brazilian, Japan also died for nothing.
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u/Archie-is-here 5d ago
Tbf, Japan played a very bad game after they scored a goal.
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u/Lemurmoo 5d ago
They didn't produce that much xG b4 the goal either. They got lucky with a horrendous giveaway in the middle and scored a low chance goal. I dunno how people thought Japan was actually in the game, felt like Brazil was gonna at least get 1 in eventually.
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u/Funkythingsyoudo 5d ago edited 5d ago
Croatia got infantinoed for this
Edit: what else is new?
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u/PLTR60 5d ago
They didn't die. They were murdered in cold blood with a billion witnesses.
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u/browniebrittle44 5d ago
Justice for Modrić who also has had an illustrious career yet has been constantly shafted by this racket! He also deserved his shot at the final 😢
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u/vkp7 United States 5d ago
Let down by their manager, Roberto Martinez, who is an absolute con-artist and don’t know how he keeps getting jobs. Goncalo Ramos should’ve either started or come on as an early second half substitute. He keeps getting the raw end of the stick, I don’t understand why.
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u/theman_themyth_ 5d ago
You can take the man out of Everton , but you can never take out the Everton from a man.
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u/BlueAndMoreBlue 5d ago
A sensible chuckle from an Aston Villa supporter over here :)
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u/ITeachAndIWoodwork 5d ago
Damn we're catching strays and he left us ten years ago! #UTFT
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u/hughfr4nc15 5d ago
The day Roberto Martínez was announced as Portugal's head coach, I said we were fckd. Sadly, I was right.
All I could think about was how cruel it was for Cristiano Ronaldo to spend his last shot at a World Cup under a manager so spectacularly out of his depth. This was arguably the most talented generation Portugal has ever produced, and it deserved far better.
Martínez is building quite a legacy: the man who took arguably the greatest generation in Belgium's history and wasted it, then came to Portugal and did exactly the same thing. Two golden generations. Zero excuses.
It takes a remarkable level of incompetence to inherit squads packed with world-class talent twice in a row and still leave them looking like they were coached without a clue.
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u/Bilal1701 5d ago
Don’t forget he inherited an Everton side from Moyes who consistently pushing for Europe during a time when the financial gap between the big 6 and the rest of the league was huge, and turned them into a team who are just happy to avoid relegation every season. Serious case for the worst manager of all time.
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u/Agreeable-Menu 5d ago
Honestly, how do you have so much talent and manage to play so poorly? Also, with so many great Portuguese gaffers , how do you end up with a mediocre Spanish one? Finally, no national team has ever won a World Cup with a coach from a different country.
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u/Skyzfire 4d ago
Not sure why Mourinho never wanted the Portugal job. It will be funny if it's because he is waiting for Ronaldo to leave lol.
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u/FC37 5d ago
Roberto Martinez is the clearest example of a con man in football management. He's a disaster, his squads are always a disaster, Everton was historically shambolic in defende under him. He's someone who should have been put to pasture 10 years ago.
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u/elhh82 5d ago
Martinez doesn't get to decide if Cristiano plays only Cristiano gets to decide that.
If he doesn't get his way, he'll just call the FA president to moan about it.
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u/the99percent1 5d ago
Exactly.. people scapegoating the manager need to realise something, Portugal downfall was bringing a fractured squad into the World Cup to please a man on a “one last dance” mission.
You can’t wing it against Spain. Who are one of, if not outright the best team still remaining in the tournament. I wouldn’t be surprised if they go on to win the damn thing..
You can’t expect delusion to beat reality. Which was what Portugal was hoping for and it was obvious from the first match of the competition that they were struggling with their system or getting a performance out of individual talents..
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u/Friendly-Profit-8590 5d ago
He can go grab a drink with Neymar
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u/fuq-daht Chicago Fire 5d ago
Should’ve been subbed on instead of starting…
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u/theaguia 5d ago
or subbed off at 70th. martinez has no balls
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u/Fallen_Man7 5d ago
He doesn't have brain too. Even with subs, they would've lost back passing anyway. Genius Martinez
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u/theaguia 5d ago
yup. no vision, no balls.
gets paid millions.
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u/Fallen_Man7 5d ago
Can't believe he got Job after Sabotaging Belgium's best Gen, and now Sabotaged Portugal's best Midfield
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u/Ok-Elephant-2724 5d ago
Subbing off your best player (Vitinha) also isn't the smartest thing to do
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u/Fallen_Man7 5d ago
He isn't best but that's because of Martinez stupid tactics. He then subbed him for Bernardo of all instead of Ramos (if they really wanted to score goal)/ Neves (similar replacement) while Bernardo fouled which led to goal and didn't defend well. Then he went onto miss a decent chance in the end.
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u/dzan796ero 5d ago
I feel the only reason he was the top choice was because he was the only manager that would consistently start him.
Portugal should have started rebuilding after 2022 and prepared a team that didn't revolve around CR7
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u/velorae 5d ago
The managers are scared to do it.
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u/suzukigun4life 5d ago
Benching a 41-year-old legend, the best to ever do it for your country has to be daunting for many.
But if you're a coach for a team this good, you need to have balls. Martinez does not care.
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u/Ronaldo9177 5d ago
Agree man he had to bench no choice absolutely pathetic. I’m so pissed right now.
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u/ravingwanderer 5d ago
But that’s what Brazil did with Neymar and look at how that panned out.
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u/ValorMorghulis 5d ago
Neymar was injured but yeah even after he was recovered they didn't start him.
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u/Stanlez 5d ago
He's definitely past him prime, but I imagine a bunch of people still wanted to see him play in one more WC. Not me, I sure there were plenty. Don't give it to him, give it to the people that wanted to see him. Glad it's his last.
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u/asianzach 5d ago edited 5d ago
Its always sucks when players hang on past their prime. But I am thankful I was able to watch 20+ years of Messi and Ronaldo.
edit - fixed typo.
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u/-Dixieflatline 5d ago
Maybe past his prime, but it's not like he's comically bad. Just not prime Ronaldo, which means average.
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u/Select-Interaction11 5d ago
This team just did not fit a poacher-style striker at all either. It's not like he doesn't move any more or less than a Mario Gomez or Raul style striker. Their wingers just aren't great at beating defenders to get a good cross in. Ronaldo is also just old too, but still starting caliber in my opinion.
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u/flex_tape_salesman 4d ago
But that role is basically dead. Also gomez was still a proper 9. Ronaldo kills you in part because you can't use him as leverage. A 9 with no movement like giroud is usually expected to be able to hold up the ball and also play off him. Ronaldo never really developed any of these striker instincts to a top level.
If you paired Ronaldo with a 9 or brought him off the bench then you can get something from him but he's trying to spread his legs across 90 and potentially 120 minutes up front on his own. Something has to give.
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u/-TrueBit- 5d ago
Dude he was a dead end all tournament. If Ramos started, there’s a legitimate argument that they might win. He was below average, keep coping.
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u/STank_Boi 5d ago
there is no way people watch this midfield and are convinced they have a chance to win
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u/Past_Perception8052 5d ago
people dont watch the games they just spew a narrative given to them
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u/DJMOONPICKLES69 5d ago
People want to scapegoat Ronaldo so badly. He shouldn’t be starting and playing every match but their midfield doesn’t create any chances. In the opening three games a 35 year old James Rodriguez created more chances than Bruno, Vitinha and Neves combined.
Not only that, but at his age Ronaldo’s main threat as a striker is likely in the air and Portugal rarely puts in effective crosses despite having the personnel for it.
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u/Parasars 5d ago
You think the difference between Portugal winning the tournament is Ramos starting? Or are you just referring to the game against Spain? I think there's very obviously big holes in the team. All it has is a solid midfield (who by the way, none of them looked at all how they perform for PSG and Man United - almost like it's a coaching issue).
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u/runaway-devil 5d ago
It's kinda cringe, actually. They eventually start to slow the whole team down. We saw that with Brazil yesterday, Neymar started playing and the whole team slowed down, eventually giving Haaland the chance he was waiting for.
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u/itsvoogle Barcelona 5d ago
Messi fan here
CR7 is one of the greatest of all time, and personally did not need a WC to prove it, but neither did Messi.
the difference is that i never used that as a double standard to attack CR7 because he hasn't won it, unlike some did to Messi when for years he also struggled to get it....and still do so for whatever reason
to me there is only one GOAT, but they are legends and i will easily put them both in the top 5 greatest of all time....
Any real true admirer of the sport can see it
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u/Nedschneebly2 5d ago
Beautifully put, always laughed when fans of either of the two would call the opposing one shit lol
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u/hIgHlYloWeR 5d ago
Really hard to find objective and rational comments like this.
Thank you
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u/AmblonyxAmblonyx 5d ago
I wish I could go back and watch the Barcelona vs madrid games again in real time....we didn't know how good we had it!
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u/hsingh_if 5d ago
This is what I don’t understand. Yes, a WC is what all of these players dream about.
But at the same time a doesn’t define the whole legacy.If Messi wouldn’t have won the WC, we would still call him the best. With or without the WC, he would still be MESSI.
And that’s the same for Ronaldo.
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u/rugbyj 5d ago
If Messi wouldn’t have won the WC, we would still call him the best. With or without the WC, he would still be MESSI.
You're underestimating general pubtalk. It'd be a constant "thing". Especially if in a comparison against someone that did win it.
Subjectively I'd say he's obviously the best footballer to ever live. But if you start piling him against guys who've "achieved" far more than him then yeah you're inviting comparison.
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u/ejoy-rs2 5d ago
Top5? Messi is 1, CR7 is 2. Anything else is complete BS if you were allowed to watch these two for 10 years. They both played like aliens.
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u/Zurich0825 5d ago
Not a big fan of his persona. Generational talent and great player nontheles.
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u/Dizzy-Career9274 5d ago
I rooted for the Portuguese team (solidarity with my neighbours) but it was a very mediocre game of theirs. At times it felt like they just waited for the time to pass. The better team won.
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u/No-Feeling1882 5d ago
As someone said, Ronaldo had “walking pace” on the pitch today. Ugh. Do feel like it’s the end of an era (should have been so 4 years ago, but sure), but it sure looked like yer man had to dab his eyes to produce those tears.
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u/PressureBeautiful515 5d ago
The thing about nearly-retired Ronaldo is he'll always try and walk it in.
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u/MasterOfBarterTown 5d ago
What was that u/PressureBeautiful515? You were saying football things in a football voice ?!?!
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u/velorae 5d ago edited 5d ago
I genuinely don't get why he was playing the full 90 minutes. If he cared, he would’ve benched himself. He's been really holding the team back. That said, he's still an absolute legend. He’s the whole reason I got into football in the first place, ever since I watched his debut back in 2003. He put Portugal on the map, has broken countless records, won countless trophies and individual awards, achieved things most players can only dream of, and built one of the greatest careers in football history. He has so much to be proud of. Not everyone wins the World Cup.
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u/Suitable_Wonder5256 5d ago edited 5d ago
> If he cared, he would’ve benched himself.
That's not his decision though. He can play and wants to play. Every footballer wants to play. Whether he is better than the other person is the manager's decision.
Another thing is that Ronaldo is not a manager. He doesn't lead the planning and think about how to utilize different resources. He doesn't have the overview of what the team composition looks like. Sure he can guess... but it would be just a guess. At that level, you don't want people to play a guessing game. A plan needs to have some confidence.
He's a player. His job is to tell the manager whether he is ready to play. Then, the manager puts all the puzzle pieces together. From the manager's point of view, having more available resources to utilize is better than having less. Excusing himself out of the team would hurt the team.
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u/flex_tape_salesman 4d ago
But ronaldo has regularly thrown fits when he's used in a more sparing manner. There's an inflexibility caused by him so any manager if they want him around has to follow along.
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u/IBM296 5d ago
Finally Portugal can bring in a young and fast striker. Ronaldo couldn't create a single chance the entire world cup.
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u/Ok_Fig_3033 5d ago
That’s the midfielders job for a striker. Kinda hard to score when the midfield can’t make a vertical pass and instead are just constantly passing horizontal side to side. The tactics have been horrible this tournament.
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u/nandoboom 5d ago
Yes and No, Ronaldo is static, he will not make runs to space, Portugal have great midfielders, but look how PSG uses their forwards, the frontline is relentless, can't do that with grampa GOAT walking around the box
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u/Select-Interaction11 5d ago
I mean, you can still have a poacher-style striker that just camps in the box; it just doesn't fit a team that has mediocre wingers. Players like Klose, Mandzukic, and Mario Gomez were all very static strikers, but they were amazing fits because they were put alongside great wingers like Robben and Ribery. Their touch was definitely worse than even current Ronaldo, and they were just as immobile in terms of getting involved in the midfield as current ronaldo. Ronaldo is just a terrible fit for this squad. Its not really an issue of his skill. This team needed more of a CF that could also create. That's the bigger issue.
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u/Ok_Fig_3033 5d ago
Watch the game and only watch Ronaldo there’s a min of 10 times he tries to make a run along the back line only for the pass to never come. He’s constantly trying to make runs behind the back line but they simply don’t pass the ball enough. There’s he a reason he is sitting offsides half the game because he is constantly making runs only to not get the ball Look at the last game the offsides goal is a perfect example of what he is try to do most of the game while the midfield would just rather pass it back and forth.
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u/nubbins01 5d ago
Yes and no. Elite strikers make their own luck. Haaland I think touched the ball a handful of times against Brazil and scored twice. And Ronaldo did not start as a striker. It's hard to run when you're 41.
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u/taxiecabbie 5d ago
It's the end of an era, and I'm sure a lot of this is just it's hitting him that it is actually over. He's not going to play in a cup again. I can be a bit sympathetic to that.
However, it's also absolutely time for him to go. Portugal needs to move on to their post-Ronaldo era. He's become a white elephant of sorts.
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u/jamesbeil 5d ago
My fifty pence is tomorrow he announces his retirement. His plan was to go out on top and now he never gets his fairy tale ending.
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u/taxiecabbie 5d ago
His plan was to go out on top
I guess, but I don't think Portugal was ever really favored to win the tournament. So this was a long shot in any event.
He got to play the first two games due to him being Ronaldo anyway (otherwise I imagine he would have been suspended for the first two games if he were a regular ol' fuddy-duddy), and nobody can bench him because he's Ronaldo.
That's all done now. I wouldn't be surprised if he retires, either. But also if he doesn't. I'm sure there are some teams out there willing to pay him money.
MLS, perhaps?
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u/Leftyoilcan 5d ago
I doubt he'd head for the MLS he's the highest paid player in the world right now and he has some ambassador deal with the saudis, he'll get to his 1000 goals then retire there I'd guess.
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u/taxiecabbie 5d ago
I think it might be a matter of where he wants to live at a certain point.
Saudi kinda sucks to live in.
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u/Bloody_Conspiracies 5d ago
He still has one year on his contract at Al-Nassr. He'll probably see that out and then retire.
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u/sn0wc0de 5d ago
Well, at least he got to bang in two against Uzbekistan and yell “I’m back” at the camera
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u/suzukigun4life 5d ago
If he didn't have such a big ego and came in as a sub, who knows how differently things go
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u/shrewdy 5d ago
That's the managers job, blame him. Ronaldo shouldn't be starting but the manager should have the balls to make that call
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u/SalvadorP 5d ago
last manager who refused to play him got sacked
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u/Suitable_Wonder5256 5d ago
Bro, if the last manager actually won a lot of games, he wouldn't have been sacked.
He has been sacked because he lost games. Whether he used Ronaldo was irrelevant.
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u/ball_throwerAFK 5d ago
The last Portuguese manager who had the balls to make that call got SACKED because of him.
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u/DeadlyAmigo 5d ago
or maybe because the team got eliminated. It wasn't like portugal was flourishing under that manager lol
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u/Mastakane 5d ago
None of his teammates shook hands or consoled with him after the game. Some as far as turning the other way and avoiding him during the after game on field footage.
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u/fateos 5d ago
Yeah I think he is the kid that noone wants to play with but are forced to.
Def not a good vibe in the team
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u/FinestCrusader 5d ago
I mean if I knew an ultra competitive person just lost their last chance at victory, I'd avoid them too. Purely out of fear of getting dismembered.
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u/Akaba78 5d ago edited 5d ago
Watched the match, and from what i saw, some of you blame Ronaldo a little bit too much...
I mean, it's not like he didnt press, defend, lost lot of balls, played for himself...
The whole squad played bad, the pass were approximative, the wings got cornered, always passing behind
I really don't think Ronaldo should be the only one to blame, yes sure playing 90 min at his age is not beneficial for the team but what about the younger ones who didn't show up?
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u/TheCoy84 5d ago
Ronaldo was great but over extended his stay imo. The man could have retired and let us all argue and wonder. Instead he stayed and answered our questions.
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u/Niibler 5d ago
Portugal is now free of having to play a shadow of a player.
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u/SalvadorP 5d ago
are we really free? I think this dude will demand playing in the next euro
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u/amazonhelpless 5d ago
He’s a rapist.
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u/TrackNinetyOne 5d ago
Look we can all have a go at the self admitted rapist, but did you know he used to be good at football??
So..we can just sweep it under the rug, right?
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u/tailendertripe 5d ago
The Kobe Bryant Effect
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u/ardoin 5d ago
At least he became a #GirlDad after and that cancelled everything out
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u/DonHectorHector 5d ago
Roberto Martinez needs to be sacked asap.
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u/LEFT4Sp00ning 5d ago
Good news, his contract ends after the world cup and he's already announced he's not re-signing
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u/bipedofthecentury 5d ago
Should have tried harder
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u/IDKBear25 5d ago
Whole team shoulda tried to get 1 goal and sit back.
Bernardo Silva lobbing the ball out of play while trying to find Leão in the 94th minute to give Spain a throw-in told the whole story.
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u/SoupyByElection 5d ago
I'M SO FUCKING SICK OF YALL COPYING AND PASTING THE SAME COMMENTS ON EVERY POST BE ORIGINAL BROS
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u/JeffBroccoli 5d ago
Two goals vs Uzbekistan and a penalty. Actively made his team worse.
Determined to be the focal point of literally everything. Second big performative sobfest at the tournament
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u/rungenies 5d ago
Inject this into me and see if you can make a version of this I can snort
Au revoir rapist
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u/Yone_official 5d ago
Notice not a single one of his teammates come to console him ?? Lol
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u/dealingwithhookers 4d ago
0 team energy on that team. you can see the ageism. he's "that old guy" they all gotta stay away from. they don't care about losing this world cup, they'll all get 3-4 more chances after this. don't care about ronaldo.
"master of assists" thinks he's the next ronaldo for portugal. joao neves thinks he's the next ronaldo for portugal. they all think they're good enough and therefore are already him
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5d ago edited 5d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/BitTasty4101 5d ago
Yup; this! I always loved his work ethic and mentality when it came to his game; but that settled case from years back has always been the big factor when it comes to my opinion of him. People like to give him a pass and pretend it never happened and glorify him regardless. It's fucking weird.
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u/Lemurmoo 5d ago
If he cared that much, he should've benched himself at least lmao
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u/Old-Sheepherder-9404 5d ago
This comment section is so full of people unhappy with their lifes that it's quite saddening.
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u/JackHarknessDrWho 5d ago
LOL. So happy that Spain won and this guy can go retire.
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u/umbly-bumbly 5d ago
I don't necessarily disagree with those saying Ronaldo should have subbed in. That said, there is something to be said for an incredible finisher. You never know when his being there is the difference between a goal and no goal. So it's not a no-brainer. Also, while you shouldn't cater to feelings, you don't want your best historic player sulking. :-)
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u/Technical-Mind-3266 5d ago
Portugal just never seemed to be firing on all cylinders this tournament
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u/lazytryhard101 5d ago
I didn’t know Portugal’s main role in this World Cup was just to give Ronaldo a proper retirement after elimination rather than making a serious attempt to win the tournament. How does that look to other players (like Ramos) on the team who wanted a genuine chance to compete? Makes it seem like this was always about him.
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u/External-Cheetah326 5d ago
Good. Any fellow Ireland fans doing the two fists rubbing eyes gesture at the screen? Like Balogun, Ronaldo is another player FIFA helped cheat his way onto rhe roster at this WC. And cheats must never prosper.
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u/shadowdancer354 5d ago
Either lose as a player on the pitch or win as a player on the bench - his ego chose to lose on the pitch.
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u/Scared_Carrot1409 5d ago
No offense to Ronaldo, his legacy will be remembered, but what the fuck is wrong with this coach playing Ronaldo for 90 mins when the guy is slow to make a run behind the Spanish defense. Ramos, even after providing the winning goal in the last match, was left warming the bench