Stunned, he walked out of the stadium, stunned, at the moment the match referee whistle sounded, announcing Portugal's exit from the 2022 FIFA World Cup at the hands of Morocco, before he was overcome with tears, after Cristiano Ronaldo realized that he might have been stranded.
With Portugal's exit from the quarter-finals, the player - who turned 38 earlier this February - not only bid farewell to the dream of winning the World Cup, perhaps forever, but also bid farewell to the only window left for him to appeal to the elders of the old continent in the language he speaks fluently ( football) without giving any mention.
Crying and tears #Ronaldo after bidding farewell to #Portugal World Cup Qatar in front of #Morocco in the quarter-finals#Qatar2022 #FIFAWorldCup#DimaMaghrib #TeamMorocco#VesteABandeira #AtlasLions@selecaoportugal@EnMaroc pic.twitter.com/NjmN5U7aty
- Al-Kass channels (@alkasschannel) December 10, 2022
Before the start of the tournament, which was held in Qatar, Manchester United - the giants of the English Premier League - announced the termination of Ronaldo's contract by mutual consent, after the Portuguese star fired at everyone and aimed during a television interview in which he criticized the club's owners and coach Eric Ten Hag.
Less than a month after entering the tunnel leading to the dressing room wearing the Portuguese national team's shirt weeping and being guided to his destination, Ronaldo emerged from another tunnel adorned with his image and a broad smile on his face, led by the cheers of thousands of fans who gathered to welcome him to his new club, Al-Nasr Saudi Arabia.
During his presentation at Al-Nasr Club on the third of last January, the Portuguese player commented, "I am a unique player... I broke records there (in Europe), so I want to break some records here as well, so this is a good opportunity for me."
"This contract is unique, because I am a unique player, so for me this is natural," added the player, who won the Golden Ball for the best player in the world 5 times, to cause a wave of applause, indicating that he is seeking to win with his new club.
🎙 Ronaldo, the player of # Victory, in his first statement in Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦:
Very happy with today's goals, and my greatest happiness lies in helping my teammates # Al-Wahda_Nasr |
#SSC pic.twitter.com/HOsMJcFoAP
- Saudi Sports Company SSC (@ssc_sports) February 9, 2023
7 goals for No. 7
Indeed, victory was achieved in Ronaldo's first match in the league with the team, but he scored his first goal with victory in his third participation with the club, when he saved a valuable point in a 2-2 draw against Al-Fateh with a penalty goal in the third minute of stoppage time.
But in the next match, Ronaldo went back in time to years when he scored 4 goals to lead his team to a 4-0 victory over Al-Wahda.
⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️ The "Super Hat-trick" for the Super 🔥
Madeira missile ⬇️ #Ronaldo #Unity_Victory |
#SSC pic.twitter.com/E263gHrYDJ
- Saudi Sports Company SSC (@ssc_sports) February 9, 2023
It was the first time that he scored four goals in one match at the club level since March 2018 with Real Madrid, according to ESPN statistics, which also indicate that he scored 4 goals in one meeting in September. 2019, but with the national team against Lithuania in the European Championship 2020 qualifiers.
Ronaldo continued to shine in front of Al-Taawoun to lead Al-Nassr to a 2-1 victory, this time with two assists, after he came close to hitting the net more than once.
And Ronaldo sent a magic pass from the middle of his court that placed Abdul Rahman Gharib in isolation with the goalkeeper, after he quickly passed the last defenders of cooperation before he smiled at him fortunately to make the winning goal for Abdullah Mado.
Don's pass 🎁
and a strange goal ⚽# Victory_Cooperation |
#SSC pic.twitter.com/JynBuNv8mZ
- Saudi Sports Company SSC (@ssc_sports) February 17, 2023
In the last seconds, after a goal for cooperation was canceled by the video assistant referee due to offside, the ball reached Ronaldo directly in front of the goal and it seemed that he was trying to practice his hobby, but it went in the direction of Mado.
Ronaldo quickly signaled to his teammate to shoot at the goal and the ball entered the net.
Although the celebration was quickly stopped due to the offside flag, Ronaldo assured his teammates, after reviewing the snapshot on the stadium screen, that the referee would count the goal, which happened after returning to the video assistant referee.
Thus, the owner of the famous No. 7 shirt has contributed to the last 7 goals for Al-Nassr, as he himself scored 5 goals, and assisted the last two goals.
Al-Nasr Club - thanks to Ronaldo's footprint - retained the lead in the competition, to take a step towards its tenth title in the competition and the first since 2019, and the veteran Portugal captain returns and celebrates in the stadiums like a phoenix in which life has revived in the Saudi stadiums.