After the World Cup exit: Ronaldo leaves his future in the national team open

"This is not a moment to talk about the future of players or coaches," said the world footballer after the European champions' 1:2 (0:1) defeat against Uruguay on Saturday evening.

He is “proud of the team. The team is young and strong and can continue to play for titles in the future. We leave the tournament with our heads held high," Ronaldo said.

The tournament in Russia was Ronaldo's fourth World Cup. With the game against Uruguay, he drew level with Bastian Schweinsteiger: Like the German world champion, the Portuguese has now played 38 games in the European Championship and World Cup finals, no one has more. The record will not fall until 2020 at the earliest, should Portugal qualify for the pan-European European Championship - and Ronaldo will still be playing for the national team at the age of 35.

Team is behind Ronaldo “Everyone in Portugal hopes that he will still be there in 2022, even if he will be 37 years old,” said teammate Bernardo Silva on behalf of his team. Coach Fernando Santos said: “Cristiano still has a lot to give to football and I hope he stays to help the young players grow and develop. We have a team with a lot of young players and of course we all want him with us."

Even though Ronaldo failed to score in his sixth knockout game at the World Cup on Saturday evening (514 minutes), the tournament in Russia was for him personally the most successful major event of his career. In none of his seven previous appearances (3x World Cup, 4x European Championship) did the Real Madrid superstar score as many goals (4). He also joined the exclusive circle of players who have scored at four World Cups - previously only Pele, Uwe Seeler and Miroslav Klose achieved this.

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After the World Cup exit: Ronaldo leaves his future in the national team open

Immediately after being eliminated in the World Cup round of 16, Cristiano Ronaldo has not yet decided what will happen to him in the Portuguese national team.

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