A farewell in installments

Cristiano Ronaldo angrily threw the captain's armband onto the pitch after the defeat in the Nations League against Spain. His team therefore did not qualify for the final next year. He still gets extremely annoyed when he fails, and his reactions afterwards are still quite confusing because his ambition is unbridled. Maybe this time it was because he is currently having a difficult time in everyday club life. At Manchester United he is just one player among many and no longer an outstanding personality, around whom ten others gather to pay homage to the former king of kickers by feeding him fine passes.

He used to transform them into goals elegantly or powerfully, cleverly or delicately. He was the goal machine and acted accordingly. He made a huge show out of free kicks. He took a few long steps to measure the distance to his approach and then conjured the ball into the net over several defenders who were supposed to form a wall. And his typical cheers always followed. Ronaldo has long since outgrown all of his teammates, wherever he played. In the national team anyway. It's still hard to imagine Portugal without him. And yet in the near future we will have to consider the option of doing without it. Ronaldo is now 37 years old. It is clear that this age becomes a constant issue for almost every athlete when it comes to retirement and the end of their career. Unless you're a golfer or a rider, maybe even a snooker player. Gentleman's resignation from Federer At the age of 41, Roger Federer has finally put his tennis racket away and only uses the espresso machines that he has been busy advertising for years. But ultimately his health was no longer possible. Federer's farewell was definitely worthy of a champion. It suited him. Perfectly like a gentleman, he quietly said hello. The Swiss player's last one-handed backhand could be a role model for some of his colleagues.

Roger Federer gave goosebumps at the Laver Cup. © ANSA / ANDY RAIN

Also for Cristiano Ronaldo, who continues to cling to an eternal football life and ignores the fact that there are also younger players available in his position who - and this is the problem that the Portuguese is probably having a hard time dealing with - are already better as he. Better than Cristiano Ronaldo, that cannot and should not be. But at least he is still a fixed star in his national team, he can still play another World Cup in Qatar soon and he is still an inspiration for his teammates in the Portuguese selection. Let's remember the 2016 European Championship when he was carried off the pitch injured after 25 minutes in the final against France. He then appeared with his thigh heavily bandaged at the side of coach Fernando Santos and directed Portugal's game from the sidelines. In agreement with the coach, which was a bit of a surprise at the time because he was said to have a strained relationship with Santos. By the way, Portugal won 1-0 without Ronaldo on the pitch, but with him on the touchline. Did it still make a difference back then? Can he still do that? Also at Manchester United? He no longer gets the playing time he was used to. Sometimes he's just a substitute, which sounds nicer than being a substitute.

But at the end, no at the end, Cristiano Ronaldo is not yet. It is also his personal right to delay this for as long as possible. Only he will know that now that he is fast approaching forty, he can no longer show up with his usual horrendous salary demands. That worked until now. This is probably over. And there is no guaranteed right to be a regular player. At the end of an unimaginably successful life as a footballer, Ronaldo would now need more than just a pinch of modesty in order to ultimately retire with as much dignity as Roger Federer and thus keep the memory of his dribbling and goals alive. Saying goodbye, as we often see, is probably one of the most difficult exercises in an athlete's life. You can't train that, you always like to push this point away and yet you're always reminded of it. Sometimes more sometimes less. But basically from the first competition, from the first game. The last few years as an active player will therefore perhaps be the most difficult for Cristiano Ronaldo. And the World Cup in Qatar may be the big farewell festival where he can at least wear the captain's armband for Portugal again. So let's look forward to a few typical Ronaldo feats. There won't be many left.

About the person: Sigi Heinrich The renowned sports journalist, author and award-winning Eurosport commentator (including winner of the German Television Prize and the Bavarian Sports Prize) not only dedicates his column “Sigi's Spitze” to the entire diversity of sport. He also deals with topics outside of his usual profession. Sometimes very seriously, often with a mischievous wink and sometimes deliberately provocative. There should be something for everyone.

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A farewell in installments

Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal narrowly failed to reach next year's National League final after losing to Spain. For our columnist Sigi Heinrich, the farewell tour for the Portuguese superstar begins with the World Cup in Qatar.

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