Cristiano Ronaldo bids adieu to World Cup with ‘clear conscience’

Cristiano Ronaldo was tearful after the last game of his sixth and final World Cup, Portugal’s 1-0 loss to Spain in the round of 16 on Monday decided by Mikel Merino’s stoppage-time winner.

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But the five-time Ballon d’Or winner insisted -- just as he did Sunday before the match -- that in the big picture, he remains secure in his legacy with his national team.

“Well, it’s normal, sad, to leave the World Cup like this,” Ronaldo said through an interpreter. “But, as I said yesterday at the press conference, I gave it my all, I gave my best. And I leave with a clear conscience.

“That’s football, that’s the life of a footballer. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. And it has to move on. It was my last World Cup, yes, but the rest ... I have time to think, be with my family, not make decisions in the heat of the moment and move on with life.”

Ronaldo will retire without a World Cup title or even a World Cup final appearance to his name. His team’s best performance with Portugal came in his first appearance, a 2006 run to the semifinals and a fourth-place finish.

But by any standard, he still finished as one of the tournament’s all-time great performers, scoring 11 times in 27 matches and joining Argentina’s 39-year-old Lionel Messi -- whose team plays Tuesday -- as the only men to play in six World Cups.

He was arguably better in the European Championships, where he scored 14 times in 30 matches and helped the Selecao das Quinas to the 2016 title.

“Before Cristiano, Portugal hadn’t won any titles,” he said. “So, I’m happy. The truth is that the biggest title I won with the national team was in 2016, which for me has the same significance as the World Cup, honestly.

“Therefore, I repeat, I leave with a clear conscience, having done my best, and that’s it. Tomorrow will be a new day, and life goes on.”

Ronaldo is under contract for one more season with Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, the club where he’s spent the past four seasons. This coming season may be his last, though that has not been confirmed.