Following Portugal's elimination, 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo leaves the FIFA World Cup stage without a trophy despite setting unprecedented scoring and appearance records across six tournaments.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup career has come to a close without a trophy following Portugal's elimination from the tournament. Ronaldo, who made his World Cup debut in 2006, holds an unbeaten record of scoring at least one goal in each of his six tournament appearances. Argentina's Lionel Messi also featured in six editions but did not score in 2010.
Statistically, 2018 marked Ronaldo’s best World Cup in terms of goals scored, while Portugal’s deepest run during his career occurred in 2006, when the team lost in the semifinals. Data from Fbref shows that Ronaldo maintained a goal-scoring rate of 0.45 goals per 90 minutes across all six World Cup editions he competed in.
Ronaldo featured in 27 World Cup matches in total—the second-most in history behind Messi's 31 appearances. Although a World Cup title eluded him, Ronaldo led his country to three other international trophies: one European Championship and two UEFA Nations Leagues.
At 41 years old, Ronaldo stands as one of the oldest players to ever compete in the tournament. According to Opta Analyst data, he is the fourth-oldest player in World Cup history, trailing Egypt's Essam El Hadary (45 years), Colombia's Faryd Mondragon (43 years), and Cameroon's Roger Milla (42 years). Additionally, Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez tied the knot after 10 years together.
Reporting sourced from The Hindu Football. Photo courtesy The Hindu Football.