The obsession that built Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal legacy eventually caused his undoing

FILE PHOTO: Despite the indisputable influence Cristiano Ronaldo wielded over the national team, it can be argued that it did not materialise onto the biggest stage. | Photo Credit: AP

More so than any other walk of life, sport is where the word ‘obsession’ often finds its truest expression. It becomes an all-consuming commitment to channel your talent, discipline and hard work to chase greatness.

The hardest part, with any form of obsession, is knowing when to let go.

For Cristiano Ronaldo, who, in his own words, elevated his career to the status of legendary names like ‘Pele and Diego Maradona’, the failure to recognise that the obsession didn’t match up to his waning powers in the latter stage of his Portugal career, threatens to be a blot on what is otherwise an unmatched legacy.

A generation of footballers recognise him as the greatest of this era, while several more in the years to come will continue to celebrate his impact on the modern game. While he was blessed with talent, it needed a never-before-seen work ethic and mindset to build himself into an era-defining footballer, broken down into three distinct phases.

Ronaldo was the first player to win the Premier League (with Manchester United), La Liga (with Real Madrid) and Serie A (with Juventus). | Photo Credit: AP

In his early years, he was a flashy yet erratic winger who possessed the ability to thrill supporters with his audacious dribbling and explosive pace. Then, he transformed himself into a ruthless finisher, which coincided with his world-record move to Real Madrid until his transfer to Juventus in 2018; the majority of his goals (64) came in those nine years. Despite a fruitful third phase, the last years of his Portugal career were limited to the top half of the pitch as a stubborn goal-hanger while still being assured of a starting berth.

In his relentless hunt for goals and individual records, Ronaldo, who judged his own career purely by numbers, might have started to feel so lonely at the top. From the outside, it appeared as though Ronaldo took little joy in shared success if it meant he himself didn’t get on the scoresheet.

Ronaldo and Messi spent nine seasons in the prime of their careers facing off regularly while playing for rival clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Perhaps that outlook was what was needed for him to keep pace with the otherworldly genius of Lionel Messi, Ronaldo’s long-time archrival. It yielded him multiple Ballon d’Or honours, record goals and appearances in international football, and a popularity which no other athlete in the world could boast of.

Ronaldo brought Portugal to the table of football’s elite in the 21st century. Superstars from different generations, such as Eusebio and Luis Figo, for all their individual brilliance, couldn’t drag the Iberian nation into such conversation until Ronaldo’s emergence. From Ronaldo’s Portugal debut until his retirement, Portugal won 170 of the 281 matches with a win record of 60 per cent. Before that, Portugal’s win percentage was just 42. If Ronaldo scored, Portugal rarely lost. In the 102 matches he found the net in, Portugal lost just seven.

Until his debut, Portugal had failed to qualify in 13 of the 16 World Cups and eight of the 11 European Championship editions. But since 2003, Portugal has qualified in all 12 World Cups and Euros. Crucially, Portugal won three titles – a European Championship and two Nations Leagues.

Despite the indisputable influence Ronaldo wielded over the national team, it can be argued that it did not materialise onto the biggest stage. His biggest contributions came in the Euros, particularly the 2004 home championships, where a raw teenage Ronaldo added sparkle to Portugal’s first real ‘Golden Generation’, which included the likes of Figo, Deco, Rui Costa, Ricardo Carvalho and Nuno Gomes. Ultimately, that group fell short in the final hurdle to Greece’s doggedness before finishing fourth in the World Cup in Germany two years later.

READ: Cristiano Ronaldo’s No. 7 honoured by Portugal; They change the way it will be written

Portugal’s biggest crowning moment came at Euro 2016, this time as its leader, where Ronaldo’s goals had led it to another final. But a cruel injury early in the decider forced him off the pitch. Yet, Ronaldo refused to take up the role of an idle bystander. Highlight reels will remind you how an impassioned Ronaldo, with a strapped knee on the touchline, animatedly attempted to shadow-coach his men, much to the apparent annoyance of Fernando Santos.

FILE PHOTO: Cristiano Ronaldo and head coach Fernando Santos frantically gesture from the touchline during the Euro 2016 final. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

In a monumental career which spanned 23 years—19 of them were spent as Portugal’s leader—there was a reluctance to acknowledge his decline. His teary exit at the 2022 World Cup, where Santos had made a massive call by dropping him to the bench, should have been the first sign of the inevitable end. Instead, it was Santos who made way for a more accommodating Roberto Martinez.

Martinez inherited possibly the greatest array of Portuguese talent across the pitch, with Ronaldo, in his late 30s, still aiming to be the heartbeat of it. In the three-and-a-half years, Portugal claimed another Nations League success but floundered in the Euros and World Cup, where Ronaldo’s reluctance to take a backseat hindered the team’s cause.

During the peak of his powers, Ronaldo was shaped by influential footballing figures like Alex Ferguson, Carlo Ancelotti, Zinedine Zidane, and his great rival Messi, but his final years seemed to be defined by the off-the-field associations. His proximity to polarising figures such as Donald Trump, Gianni Infantino, and Piers Morgan, added to a close circle of former teammates-turned-yes-men, seemed to further reinforce his enduring belief that he was still in a battle of one-upmanship with Messi, who had pulled ahead by then.

Since 2023, Ronaldo racked up 28 goals, but only four of those came in tournament finals: an equaliser against Spain in the 2025 Nations League final, two goals against Uzbekistan and one against Croatia in this summer’s World Cup. It took him until his sixth World Cup appearance at 41 for him to register his first knockout goal, which came from the penalty.

“Just look at the numbers. I’m sure you can make some calculations. I’m still doing well,” Ronaldo pointed out after another ineffective World Cup campaign while justifying his decision to continue.

But new boss Jorge Jesus served him with a reality check immediately after, when a tactical call to not introduce him off the bench punctured his long-standing ‘lead actor’ bubble. It resulted in a public fallout, where Ronaldo staged a dramatic exit from the national camp. To make matters worse, he put out an extraordinary five-page letter explaining his departure, which only invited further scrutiny and ridicule. His final days as a Portugal footballer were marked by a fine, a suspended 30-day ban and a retirement announcement via social media – hardly a dignified farewell for a footballer of his stature.

His pursuit of being the first player to reach 1000 goals—his one final obsession—while still playing in Portugal colours proved to be one too many individualistic ambitions at odds with the demands of a collective team goal. When the dust settles, despite the acrimonious manner of his exit, Ronaldo’s legacy in the game will still be long-secured, which no further goal or record or trophy could have further embellished.