Cristiano Ronaldo’s Legacy Was Once Unquestionable. Has That Changed? | OneFootball

While Cristiano Ronaldo’s impact on both Portuguese and global football is unmistakable, a slew of disappointing performances in the last three major tournaments may have put his otherwise impeccable pedigree into question. 

The 2026 FIFA World Cup was, among other things, the tournament of stars. Kylian Mbappé took home the Golden Boot and finished as the tournament’s all-time leading scorer, while reigning Ballon d’Or winner and fellow Frenchman Ousmane Dembélé put forth a handful of impressive performances as well.

Two years after his Ballon d’Or, Rodri recovered the same world-class levels that permeated his game before his ACL injury en route to a Golden Ball and a World Cup title with Spain.

Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham formed a scintillating one-two punch for England, Erling Haaland excelled in Norway’s first major tournament in 26 years, Lionel Messi delivered arguably his best-ever World Cup for Argentina at the ripe age of 39, while Vinícius Júnior dragged Brazil as far as he could before being undone by Haaland’s unstoppable form in the Round of 16.

There is at least one big name star, however, who failed to deliver. Cristiano Ronaldo, in his last opportunity to complete the one thing that was missing from his résumé, came up short. Not only did he fail to reach his first-ever World Cup final, but he also failed to produce his first iconic campaign in the tournament. Unlike Johan Cruyff in ’74, Eusébio in ’66, Zico in ’82 and Roberto Baggio in ’94, Ronaldo doesn’t have a single World Cup where you can pull up as a memorable individual tournament.

It’s gotten to the point where he’s dismissed the importance of the world’s biggest sporting event, telling Piers Morgan that winning a World Cup wasn’t a dream of his, and claiming that his EURO 2016 title carries just as much weight as a World Cup title would.

But as fraught as Ronaldo’s final World Cup campaign might be, you cannot understate his impact on Portugal’s national team. His first major tournament was at the 2004 EUROs, where he’d bag two goals and two assists as a 19-year-old fresh off of his first season with Manchester United. Portugal, the host of the tournament, lost in the final to Greece, and two years later the nation would reach the semifinals of the World Cup in Germany, losing to eventual runners-up France.

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At the time, the Portuguese national team was going through a transition. The golden generation that brought the nation back to the World Cup after a 16-year drought and returned to the EUROs after 12, was beginning to phase out. Just as Ronaldo was hitting his prime for United and Real Madrid and attaining the captain’s armband, the likes of Luís Figo, Rui Costa, Vítor Baía, and Pauleta were hanging up their boots.

A talented group including Pepe, Nani, and João Moutinho would make their ways up to the senior team alongside Ronaldo, but after the semifinal appearance in 2006, there was a string of disappointing results.

At EURO 2008, Portugal fell to Germany in the quarterfinals, and in 2010, they’d lose to eventual champions Spain in the round of 16. Ronaldo would score just one goal in each tournament.

Ronaldo’s three goals at the 2012 European Championships were good enough to earn him joint-top goalscorer honors, but Portugal would once again fall to Spain in the quarterfinals. Two years later in Brazil, Portugal crashed out in the group stage behind Germany and the United States, and Ronaldo would score once while providing an assist.

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2016 brought a long-awaited redemption for Portugal, who edged France 1-0 in extra time to secure their first-ever major championship. Ronaldo exited the final with an injury after 25 minutes, but he nonetheless had perhaps his best tournament in a Portugal jersey to date, winning the silver boot with three goals and being named to the team of the tournament.

Going into the 2018 World Cup, the 33-year-old Ronaldo had already won five Champions Leagues, three Premier Leagues, and two La Ligas, but he hadn’t quite made his mark yet on the world’s biggest competition, having scored just three goals in his first three World Cups.

However, he would more than double his tally in Russia, scoring a brilliant hat trick against Spain in Portugal’s opening match, and netting the winner against Morocco in the following fixture. Firing on all cylinders, it seemed that Ronaldo would finally have his moment in the Russian sun. Alas, it wasn’t to be, with the soon-to-be Juventus forward failing to score against Iran and Uruguay as Portugal suffered yet another early World Cup exit.

Ronaldo then set things alight at EURO 2021, bagging five goals in the group stage and becoming the all-time leading scorer (14) and all-time assist provider (8) in the history of the European Championship. However, he was unable to provide the goods when it mattered most, as Belgium prevailed 1-0 in the Round of 16 via Thorgan Hazard’s first-half goal.

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar saw perhaps the first signs of Ronaldo’s decline in a Portugal jersey. After breaking the deadlock from the penalty spot in a 3-2 win against Ghana, Ronaldo was kept under wraps against Uruguay and South Korea, and soon, he found himself the victim of one of the biggest shocks in the history of the Seleção.

Rather than start his captain, Portugal manager Fernando Santos opted to drop him from the starting XI for Gonçalo Ramos, 16 years Ronaldo’s junior, who answered the call by scoring a hat trick in a 6-1 thrashing of Switzerland in the first round of the knockout stage.

Ramos would start once again in the quarterfinals against Morocco, but neither he nor Ronaldo, who’d enter the match in the 50th minute, were able to provide a goal as Portugal fell 1-0 to the rising Atlas Lions.

In hindsight, this would have been the perfect time for Portugal to move on from Ronaldo, who was finishing his second spell at Manchester United and joining Saudi club Al-Nassr. Portugal, after all, were coming to age with a new golden crop featuring precocious young midfielders like Vitinha and João Neves, the game’s best left back in Nuno Mendes, as well as other creative talents like Rafael Leão and Ramos.

Another manager might have phased out a striker who was going to be 41 years of age in 2026. Another manager might have taken note of his limitations in pressing and linking up play, and how his enormous gravity has often made Portugal into a team that plays for Ronaldo rather than the overall benefit of the team. But alas, Robert Martinez was not another manager.

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Instead of gradually phasing him out of the team in favor of younger options like Ramos and João Félix, Martinez decided to build his attack around CR7 at the 2024 EUROs, and didn’t once consider using him off the bench like his predecessor. While he became the first player to appear in six European Championships at the tournament, having previously been the first to play in five, Ronaldo would fail to score in all five of his matches as Portugal fell to France on penalties in the quarterfinal.

Still, Martinez refused to back down from his stubborn dependence on Ronaldo, who led Portugal to their second UEFA Nations League title with goals in the last three matches against Denmark, Germany, and Spain.

“I’ve worked with many geniuses, but I’ve never seen anyone like Cristiano Ronaldo,” stated Martinez. “His hunger to win is unbelievable. Every morning is a new opportunity for him to improve, to be better, to win. He’s unique — I can’t explain it.”

Ronaldo would have been expected to miss his first two 2026 World Cup matches after getting sent off in Portugal’s penultimate qualifier against Republic of Ireland, but he managed to get his impending three-match suspension delayed, with a splashy visit to the White House and photo op with U.S. President Donald Trump perhaps aiding in the decision.

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For Ronaldo, the most capped male player and all-time leading scorer in international football as well as the all-time leading scorer and assist provider in the UEFA Champions League, the 2026 World Cup was a chance to erase the one stain that had plagued his legacy.

Portugal had one of their strongest sides in years, and they entered the tournament as one of the main contenders for the prize, just behind prime betting favorites Spain and France.

Ronaldo and co. would kick things off in Houston against a DR Congo side that was returning to the competition after 52 years. Once again in the starting XI, Ronaldo failed to seize the occasion, making 29 touches and three shots (none on target) in a 1-1 draw, and coming under scrutiny after snatching at a chance rather than teeing up Bruno Fernandes with an assist.

In comparison, Messi scored a hat trick in his World Cup opener against Algeria, and in Argentina’s ensuing match against Austria, he’d become the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history with a brace.

With the now burnt-to-a-crisp Messi-Ronaldo debate once again heating up, the attention again fell on CR7 as he and Portugal took on Uzbekistan in their second group stage match. This time, he delivered, scoring his first goal from open play in a major tournament since 2021. He bagged a brace in the 5-0 demolition, becoming the first player to score in six World Cups and Portugal’s all-time World Cup leading scorer. During the performance, he defiantly proclaimed, “I’m back.”

The quote drew the ire of some, including the FOX Sports broadcasting crew. Zlatan Ibrahimovic said in response, “I thought he never left. I don’t know why he says ‘I’m back.'”

Ibrahimovic’s broadcasting frenemy Alexi Lalas echoed the sentiments, quipping “Anybody can say they’re back against Uzbekistan. If he is truly back, then this is the game to show it,” ahead of Portugal’s final group stage match against Colombia that would decide the winner of the group.

Once again, though, Ronaldo struggled to deliver up top and was subdued throughout the match in Miami. Colombia, knowing that they didn’t have too much to worry about in defending transitions, managed to rack up the pressure on goalkeeper Diogo Costa, who, as he did in each of Portugal’s final matches, emerged as the sole saving grace with a number of world-class reflexes in between the sticks in a 0-0 draw.

A second-place finish in the group gave Portugal a markedly more difficult route in the knockouts, and they’d square off against Croatia in the round of 32.

Ronaldo labored to make an impact in open play against the Croatian defense and struggled with his mobility and pressing, frequently finding himself isolated by the tight Vatreni backline. However, he managed to tie things up from the penalty spot with his first-ever World Cup knockout goal, before making way for defensive midfielder Rúben Neves and watching from the bench as Ramos scored an extra-time winner in Toronto.

Next up was an all-Iberian clash against a dominant Spain side that would eventually hoist the Jules Rimet trophy. If there was ever a time for Portugal to finally show their potential under Martinez, this was it.

But Portugal never quite had the pace and dynamism needed to trouble Spain’s high line, with their transitional attacking in particular struggling due to their predictably centralized, direct passes to Ronaldo.

Whereas Spain manager Luis de la Fuente switched things up by bringing on Ferran Torres, Fabian Ruiz, and Mikel Merino, his counterpart refused to bring on Ramos for Ronaldo, who restricted his team’s tactical fluidity by his tendency to wait for the ball rather than make runs in behind.

It ended up costing Portugal dearly, as Torres and Merino combined for the winning goal before going on to win the ultimate prize in New Jersey two weeks later. For Ronaldo, it was the end of a dream that had begun in Cologne and ended in Texas. For Martinez, it was the end of his Portugal journey. And for the Portuguese national team, it was a head-scratching case of “what could have been?”

Portugal cannot afford to spend any more time constricting their team around the needs of Ronaldo, who is several years removed away from being a world-class player. And while they will undoubtedly take a massive blow in terms of their sponsorships, TV deals, and commercial partnerships, they simply cannot afford to continue tethering themselves to a player who has now failed to deliver in each of his last three major tournaments.

The clock starts now on the cycle leading up to the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted across six different countries, including Portugal. If new manager Jorge Jesus is to get the most out of his side, he can’t afford to continue dragging this Ronaldo charade out for the following EURO 2028 cycle. He needs to find a new attacking talisman to build his side around.