"Beautiful While It Lasted": Cristiano Ronaldo's Cryptic Message after World Cup Defeat

Cristiano Ronaldo shared a cryptic post on Sunday after Portugal lost to Morocco in the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals. Despite coming on as a second-half substitute, Ronaldo failed to make an impact as Youssef En-Nesyri's strike in the first half was enough for Morocco to reach the semi-finals. Following Portugal's shocking loss to Morocco, Ronaldo posted on Instagram that his dream of winning a World Cup has come to an end.

A World Cup win for Portugal was my biggest and most ambitious career goal. It was my biggest dream to put the name of our country on the highest level in the world, even though I won many titles of international significance, including for Portugal." Ronaldo captioned the post.

During his fifth and probably last World Cup, Ronaldo thanked the Portuguese people for supporting him over the years.

"In the five World Cup appearances that I scored over 16 years, always alongside great players and supported by millions of Portuguese people, I gave it my best shot. I left everything on the field. I never gave up on that dream and never turned my back on it."

However, the 37-year-old did not reveal anything about his future plans.

"Unfortunately, yesterday the dream ended. It is not worth reacting hot. I just want everyone to know that much has been said, much has been written, much has been speculated, but my dedication to Portugal has not changed for an instant. I was always one more person fighting for everyone's goal and I would never turn my back on my teammates and my country."

"For now, there's not much more to say. Thank you, Portugal. Thank you, Qatar. The dream was beautiful while it lasted... Now, it's time to be a good advisor and allow everyone to draw their own conclusions," he concluded.

Currently, Ronaldo is a free agent after mutually terminating his contract with Manchester United.