Why Cristiano Ronaldo’s latest strop stays true to his sorry final act | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo disparaged the achievement of winning the World Cup because of the fact it’s played over just “six or seven games”. That number will rise to eight at the 2026 World Cup due to an extra knockout round - but for Ronaldo, his campaign will by all likelihood be limited to a maximum of five. It could end after one.

The Portugal captain, 40, is deep into his final act as a footballer, having confirmed that next year’s World Cup - the sixth of his decorated career - will “definitely” be his last. It acts as one more chance to match Lionel Messi’s crowning glory of Qatar 2022, which for many tipped the scales in the diminutive Argentinian’s favour as the greatest player of all time.

Ronaldo refutes the significance of this - because of course he does. “It’s not a dream (to win the World Cup),” he said in his latest cringe-inducing interview with serial Ronaldo bootlicker - sorry, “good friend” - Piers Morgan. Yeah, right.

If that is how Ronaldo truly feels, he likely won’t need more than a sleep and a shower to get over the potential damage he’s wreaked to his country’s chances at next summer’s tournament finals. A spectacular moment of head-loss saw him sent off for throwing an elbow into the back of Dara O’Shea in Portugal’s 2-0 loss to Ireland. The result itself shouldn’t impact the Selecao’s automatic qualification but could well deprive Roberto Martinez of his captain, and football’s leading all-time international goalscorer, for the majority of the group stage.

Red cards in World Cup qualifying carry an automatic one-match ban but Ronaldo is set to see his increased to three matches for violent conduct. As Wayne Rooney famously experienced for England at Euro 2012, suspensions carry over into the final tournament - so if Portugal avoid the play-offs, Ronaldo will all but likely miss their first two of three group games.

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Cristiano Ronaldo has put his country’s World Cup in jeopardy after a stupid red card against Ireland (Getty)

Ronaldo had promised to behave ahead of kick-off. He bizarrely encouraged the hostile Dublin crowd to boo him, saying it would “take the pressure off the other players” - as if his teammates were the liabilities. But as he trudged towards the Aviva Stadium tunnel, giving it to the crowd in light of sins of his own doing, it wasn’t boos he was subjected to; it was mocking jeers and laughter.

Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson had urged referee Glenn Nyberg to not let Ronaldo control the game the day before. “It was his action on the pitch that cost him the red card. It had nothing to do with me – unless I got into his head,” Hallgrimsson said. For a man whose fragile ego has almost grown weaker with age, that doesn’t seem improbable. While Ronaldo’s cocky personality is nothing new, it has proliferated during what should be his gracious twilight years.

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Ronaldo sarcastically responds to Irish jeers in Dublin (Liam McBurney/PA Wire)

After a return to Manchester United at the age of 36 proved little more than an ineffective nostalgia act, Ronaldo - struggling for minutes before being phased out of the squad due to a dispute - went public. His 2022 interview with Morgan, one which began “I like you, I like you too” in a bizarre exchange of backslapping and flattery, saw the forward air his dirty laundry with his current employers for millions to see. He claimed he’d been “betrayed” by the club, said he had “no respect” for then-manager Erik Ten Hag and argued that the club’s infrastructure and ambition hadn’t improved since the Sir Alex Ferguson era. His contract at Old Trafford was terminated by mutual consent mere days after the explosive interview’s airing.

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Cristiano Ronaldo said he had “no respect” for Erik ten Hag while still under contract at Man United (PA Wire)

He went on to join Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr, sparking what is - lest we forget - football’s biggest sportswashing initiative, one that has led to the travesty of the 2034 World Cup being signed off for the problematic Gulf state. Ronaldo is content with shamelessly shilling the Saudi Pro League, lauding it as far superior to Portugal’s Primeira Liga and arguing for its top performers to be seriously considered for the Ballon d’Or, when he’s scoring happy against defences that - bar a handful of often state-financed clubs - remain at a considerably low standard.

But for all this talk of progression, you won’t hear a peep about Saudi Arabia’s abhorrent human rights record, one that is worsening under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The kingdom carried out 345 executions in 2024, the highest number recorded by Amnesty International in over 30 years. Amnesty made a plea to Ronaldo to highlight the country’s glaring social problems rather than contribute to laundering its reputation. By insisting Saudi Arabia is a “safe place” and an “amazing country”, he has cowered away from these calls.

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Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabia sparked football’s biggest sportswashing initiative (Getty Images)

While his continued involvement as a figurehead of the Saudi game can lead to questions over morality, there is little debate on Ronaldo, the narcissist. In his latest interview with Morgan, he asserted that he’s more famous than Donald Trump and better looking than David Beckham; brags that show the 40-year-old father-of-five hasn’t particularly matured from the arrogant character he became known for in his 20s.

Ronaldo told Morgan that he never wanted to be famous. “It’s boring... I wish to not be so famous,” he said, claiming he’d trade in his global notoriety for unrecognised success in an instant. When you see every comment, every action, every blunder of his going under the microscope, you almost begin to feel sorry for him, even if you don’t believe him. But nobody makes him say these things. Nobody makes him do these things. Nobody made him sit down with Piers Morgan three times in six years.

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Ronaldo’s ego has grown more fragile with age (Getty Images)

It’s inoffensive silence that makes his greatest rival so much less polarising. Helped by his naturally shy persona and limited English, Messi doesn’t spark furore quite like Ronaldo. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner is similarly now playing at lower level with Inter Miami, but it feels he’s going out with grace. Ronaldo, after his antics in Dublin, is in the midst of another ego attack, staying true to what has defined his close-career.

He says he has one more World Cup left, one or two more years in total. But with each passing misdemeanour in his pursuit of reaching the elusive 1,000-goal tally, he erodes his legacy that little bit more.